


Wrap Me In Your Heavy Love

by soul_writerr



Series: King Of My Heart Soulmate AU [5]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Background Case, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Sappy, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-09-28 02:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17174516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_writerr/pseuds/soul_writerr
Summary: Sonny and Rafael have to learn how to best use their bond through a tough case while simultaneously trying to plan a wedding.Soulmate AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've run out of Taylor Swift lyrics to name this series, so this one comes from Lea Michele's "Heavy Love". 
> 
> I wanted to explore their bond through tough cases, so here you have it, but it's mostly domestic fluff and hurt/comfort. This will make much more sense if you read the four parts previous to this one. They're all short, so don't be shy!
> 
> Gentle reminder that English is not my first language, but I hope you like it anyway.
> 
> TW: This story contains canon-typical, non-graphic mentions of rape

As Sonny tried to sooth the victim into talking a little bit more about what happened to him, he felt a pulling sensation at the back of his neck.

It was involuntary, and they couldn’t help it, but Sonny knew that meant Rafael had just walked into the precinct. It happened every time. It wasn’t connected to any feeling in particular, it was just how their bond worked.

Sonny didn’t mind it. He honestly loved knowing that Rafael was around without having to tap into the bond mid-day, after all, they had worked very hard to establish the boundaries of their soul bond.

With time, and with the help of a soulmates program, they learned to turn the volume down during business hours.

They never wanted to close their connection, so learning to turn it down was the only option for them. And it was good. It was comfortable.

Sonny and Rafael had made a deal of only turning it back up if there was an emergency or if they were in the same room and one or the other asked for it.

They couldn’t afford to jeopardize cases. And they wouldn’t.

But it didn’t matter if they had the volume all the way down, Sonny always felt that pull when Rafael showed up. And Rafael said he felt the same, but it pulled from his gut instead of the back of his neck.

It was comforting.

“I’m tired,” the victim, Arthur Bolt, told Sonny for the second time. “Can I go home?”

“Of course,” Sonny smiled softly. “I can drive you home. But Arthur, is there anything else you remember? Any noise, a smell? Maybe he said something to you? Even if it seems like it’s nothing, it could really help us.”

Arthur looked up at Sonny, seeming to consider his words for a moment. Then he shook his head slowly. “He didn’t say anything. I kinda wish he did. Maybe that would help me make sense of this whole thing."

Sonny nodded, but waited, not moving.

“But I think I smelled something on his clothes,” he squinted. “Something sharp, kinda chemical. You know, like nail polish remover.”

Sonny’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s great, Arthur. That’ll be a great help. Have you been to any nail salons lately?”

“A week ago,” he chuckled dryly. “There’s this new place that’s supposedly LGBT friendly. They do nails, hair, waxing, the whole nine yards.”

Sonny felt a pang in his chest. “What do you mean by _supposedly_ LGBT friendly?”

“They advertise they are, but the woman who did my friend’s nails was anything but friendly,” he rolled his eyes.

“Okay,” Sonny nodded, sliding a pen and his notepad across the table. “Could you write down the name and the address of that place, Arthur?”

“Yeah, sure, but there are only women working there,” Arthur shot him a look.

“We can still check it out,” Sonny shrugged.

* * *

When he exited the interview room, address in hand, he found that Rafael had been watching him from the other side of the glass. He couldn’t help the feeling of relief at the sight of his soulmate.

Even though they had their bond limited at the moment, they were still made to be each other’s safe place.

“Hey,” Rafael greeted with a small smile. “Are you okay?”

Sonny nodded minutely, taking a step closer to his fiancé. “It’s going to be a tough one.” It always hit them a little bit harder when the target was someone from the LGBT community.

“Yeah,” Rafael breathed. “You’ll let me know if you need anything, right?”

“I will,” Sonny smiled softly and nodded again. “I’m going to give this address to the Lieu and drive him to his apartment. Are you going home?”

“Yes, I came here so we could go together. I can wait for you.”

“No, go home,” he shook his head, reaching for Rafael’s hand. “I might be a while. Get comfortable, maybe order us something.”

“Are you sure?,” Rafael tilted his head. “I don’t mind waiting.”

“I’m sure,” he squeezed his fiancé’s fingers.

“Okay,” he returned the squeeze and smiled. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you soon,” Sonny let go of Rafael’s hand gently and walked out, making his way straight into Olivia’s office and briefing her about the victim’s statement.

“And I’m not sure it’s a hate crime,” he concluded. “But the LGBT friendly salon does make it sound like it.”

Olivia sighed, running her hand across her face, “First thing tomorrow morning, you and Rollins can pay them a visit. Take Arthur home and then you’re off for the night.”

“Okay,” Sonny nodded. “Thanks, Lieu.”

“Take care of yourself, Carisi,” she gave him an assessing look.

He smiled at her on his way out of her office.

* * *

Thankfully, Arthur’s apartment building was on the same direction as Sonny’s. He was glad he wouldn’t need to face through all of Manhattan’s traffic and back to get to Rafael.

Sonny tried to make small talk on the way, but Arthur didn’t really engage much. They were about eight blocks away from Arthur’s building when he broke the silence.

“You’re engaged?”, Arthur asked curiously, pointing at the ring on Sonny’s finger.

Sonny looked at it and smiled proudly. It was a beautiful, dark silver band he and Rafael had chosen the day after he proposed. It had been six months, and Sonny still got emotional every time he caught sight of the matching ring on his fiancé’s finger.

“Yeah,” he nodded enthusiastically. “His name is Rafael. You might meet him. He works with SVU.”

“Is he your soulmate?,” Arthur asked.

Somehow, Sonny’s smile grew even bigger. “He is.”

“I haven’t met mine,” he sighed sadly. “And now I kinda hope I don’t.”

“Hey, don’t say that,” Sonny looked at him sympathetically. “I know what happened to you was beyond awful. But the day you meet your soulmate, your whole life falls into place, you know? You feel like you weren’t even living it at the fullest before. Rafael is my home. And having that bond with him is just, there are no words to describe it. You wouldn't want to miss that.”

Arthur was silent for a while, his eyes falling to his lap.

“Sorry for the oversharing,” Sonny said apologetically.

“No, I’m just thinking,” he shrugged. “It’s nice. What you said. It sounds nice.”

“It is,” he smiled soflty. “You’re still young, Arthur. There’s no need to rush it.”

“Yeah,” Arthur sighed. “I’m just glad it wasn’t, you know, _him_.”

He looked at Arthur again, and Sonny’s heart clenched when he saw a single tear run down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly, and Sonny looked at the traffic in front of them again.

“Me too, Arthur,” he agreed. “I’m glad it wasn’t him.”

* * *

As soon as the key went into the lock, Sonny let out a long breath as he felt the bond bursting inside him. It was always intense, turning it back up after a whole day.

He felt comfort, and a tingle of concern.

Sonny knew, without even looking at him, that Rafael was frowning. And he couldn’t help but smile as he opened the door to find his soulmate waiting for him at the end of the short hallway, his frown softening into a look of relief.

Whenever the bond clicked for Sonny, it did for Rafael too. If one turned it up, the other one would feel it. It was impossible for it to be one-sided.

So by now Rafael could already feel that Sonny was just happy to be home, the case left outside their apartment for the day.

“Hey. Come here,” Rafael pulled him into a hug as soon as he closed the door behind him. “I ordered pizza.” Sonny’s heart jumped. That was his comfort food.

Sonny melted into Rafael’s embrace with ease, letting the feeling of love flood into him.

God, he hoped it never subsided. He hoped it was always this intense, every single time, forever.

“I got the bath ready for you,” Rafael whispered, running his hands up and down his back.

“Raf, I’m fine,” he assured, pulling back to look at his fiancé’s face.

“I know,” Rafael smiled. “But we both had a long day, I know this case is going to take a toll soon enough, and I love you. So let me take care of my future husband while I’m still in my right mind."

Sonny snorted, letting contentment flood through to Rafael at the words ‘future husband’.

“I love you,” he said and leaned in to kiss him.

It was a soft, sweet kiss, but one that had his heart pounding and made his brain fuzzy anyway. Rafael had that effect on him.

Rafael was still smiling as they parted. “Come on. I’ll wash your hair.”

Sonny undressed quickly, going into the bathroom only in his underwear, Rafael right behind him.

The room smelled like lavender oil, and Sonny inhaled deeply, closing his eyes for a moment. He felt Rafael’s hands on his waist, his finger digging into his skin possessively. Sonny leaned towards him until he felt Rafael’s chest pressing against his back and his fiancé placed a wet kiss on his shoulder.

Rafael’s hands ran down his body until Sonny felt his fingers hooking at his underwear, pulling it down all the way. Sonny stepped out of them, and let Rafael guide him towards the bathtub.

“I got some new face masks, do you want to try one?,” Rafael asked as he stepped into the warm, bubbly water. It was a blue-ish shade of pink, and Sonny thought there was some glitter in there as well.

Sonny giggled at the idea of a face mask, but apparently Rafael was going all out, so he positioned himself comfortably in the bath and shrugged. “Sure.”

“By the way,” Rafael started as he pulled a bag from under the bathroom sink and chose a pore minimizing face mask for Sonny. “About the whole catering drama. They said they’d make an exception for us.”

“How much yelling did that take?”

Sonny was taken by surprise by how difficult planning a wedding was when their schedules were so unpredictable. They were having a hard time scheduling meeting caterers and visiting venues, and no one seemed to want to throw a bone to one of New York’s finest and his fiancé, the Assistant District Attorney.

“Not as much as I anticipated,” Rafael smirked. He opened the packet in his hands and unfolded the mask, positioning it over Sonny’s face. “Close your eyes.”

“So we can meet them on the weekend?,” Sonny asked, trying not to move his mouth too much to not misplace the mask.

“This Saturday, if that’s okay with you,” Rafael slowly ran his finger over Sonny’s forehead, down the bridge of his nose, his cheeks, his jaw. He could feel the mask settling cold against his skin.

Sonny hummed. “Feels nice.”

“Don’t move your face, the mask is slipping,” he said, and Sonny felt his finger on his forehead again, pulling at the sheet mask gently.

 _Sorry_ , Sonny tapped in. _And Saturday is okay with me, but I might have to be on call._

_I’ll talk to Liv. See if she can keep you off duty for half a day._

_I can talk to her, Raf. She’s my boss._

_And she’s my friend. I’ll be asking her a favor as a friend._

Sonny snorted, and he felt a flicker of mild annoyance coming from Rafael. 

_Hey, now,_ Sonny teased. _It’s relaxing time. You said you were gonna wash my hair._

 _You’re lucky you’re cute,_ Rafael said, and Sonny felt affection shooting through his chest.  

Sonny sighed happily as Rafael started working the shampoo into his hair, massaging his scalp gently, washing away all the hair gel he had watched Sonny put into it that morning.

He hummed, pleased, at the feeling of adoration that curled around the pit of his stomach.

* * *

Sonny woke up to the sound of his alarm, but quickly turned it off. He yawned, looking over his shoulder to see his fiancé all snuggled up under the covers, only the top half of his face and his hair peeking through. He smiled fondly, his chest constricting at the sight.

Feeling Rafael sleep was like floating in the ocean, with waves calmly rocking his body up and down. When he woke up, it felt just like when the sea was changing tides, turning the calming motion into a strong pull that kept Sonny centered.

And although he was a morning person, Rafael was not, but they made it work perfectly.

Sonny got up and showered first. That would always give Rafael a few extra minutes in bed. Then, in his underwear and his undershirt, he’d wake Rafael up with soft kisses and whispered endearments. His replies were normally grunts and whines, but Sonny made sure Rafael was up before he made his way into the kitchen to get breakfast ready.

He got the coffee maker and toaster on while he scrambled eggs and fried some bacon.

By the time everything was ready to be served, Rafael was out of the bedroom looking gorgeous in his three-piece suit, but with his hair still wet.

Sonny met him halfway, hugging him by the waist with a lazy smile. Rafael pulled him into a slow kiss.

“Good morning,” was often the first thing Rafael said, pecking his lips one more time before making his way to the kitchen. The feeling of lovely familiarity tugged at Sonny’s chest.

It was Sonny’s turn to change, so he walked into the bedroom to find his suit spread out for him on the bed.

Rafael loved choosing and matching Sonny’s clothes to his own, and Sonny loved that he loved it, so he got into it with no reservations. He also felt a little bit proud to wear something his fiancé chose for him, and Sonny let his self-confidence run down their bond as he checked himself in the mirror.

When Sonny walked out of the bedroom again, the table was set, and Rafael had served them both coffee and sipped his as he read the newspapers.

He always looked so dapper, New York Times in one hand, steaming cup of coffee in the other.

“I’ll tell the Lieu we’re meeting the caterer this Saturday,” Sonny told him as he set across from Rafael.

“Good,” Rafael nodded. “I’ll make sure to double check with her.”

Sonny chuckled. “I swear you’re the only one comfortable enough to press Liv.”

“Of course,” Rafael smirked, and Sonny felt a tinge of his amusement with a touch of cockiness. “Because I don’t work for her.”

Sonny rolled his eyes dramatically as he took a sip of his coffee. He smiled. It was just how he liked it. A little sugar, a lot of cream.

He looked over at Rafael with soft eyes, watching the man he loved in the domesticity of their home, before they had to walk out the door and see some of the most ugly things in the world.

If Sonny knew what happiness was now, it was all because of Rafael. It even made his job easier. Knowing Rafael understood, that he cared. It made it bearable.

When Rafael turned away from his papers to return Sonny’s look, his stomach flooded with a warmth Sonny knew too well.

“I love you,” Sonny told him, because he couldn’t help it. He knew Rafael could feel it, but Sonny thought he might explode if he didn’t voice it.

Rafael’s expression turned softer, and he tilted his head to look at Sonny with adoring eyes. “I love you, too.”

After a beat or two, emotions coming and going through their bond, Rafael turned back to his newspapers and Sonny served himself some toast and eggs.

When they were done eating, they quickly put everything into the dishwasher and turned it on, making their way to the bathroom next. They stood next to each other as they pulled their hair products out of the bathroom cabinet and went about styling their hair.

“Your mother called me yesterday,” Rafael told him as he brushed the product into his hair, pulling it up into a perfect coif. “She invited me to lunch on Sunday.”

Sonny frowned at him, meeting his gaze in the mirror. “Invited you?”

After over two years of them being together, Rafael didn’t need an invitation to go to Sunday mass with the Carisis anymore. But he didn’t normally attend the family’s outing. Firstly because he had been lapsed for too long to care about church. Secondly because he liked to get a little bit of work done on Sunday morning so that he didn’t have to rush out on Monday.

But the Carisis and Rafael all got along very nicely, and when Rafael did attend mass, once in a blue moon, Sonny felt even more floored by the love he felt for his man. Still, he respected Rafael’s lack of interest.

“Okay, she didn’t invite me,” he chuckled. “She demanded my attendance.”

Sonny laughed, brushing his hair back into waves with practiced ease. “That makes more sense.”

“Yeah, she said that I can’t make excuses now that we’re engaged.”

“We’ve been engaged for six months,” Sonny reminded him, his heart doing a flip inside his chest.

“She might have started dropping hints that I should attend your Sunday gatherings for about that long,” Rafael confessed, shrugging as he gave his hair one last swoop before dropping his comb, checking the result in the mirror. “But only now did she resort to threats.”

“Threats?,” Sonny chuckled.

“She’s very creative,” he turned to look at Sonny’s progress, nodding approvingly at his coif. “You look great.”

Sonny smiled, turning to his fiancé once he was done. Sonny pulled him by the hips, leaning in to kiss him.

He had intended for it to be a short kiss, but Rafael grabbed the lapels of his jacket and kept him in place. Sonny groaned loudly when Rafael dipped his tongue in his mouth, licking hungrily and messily.

And of course, Sonny was a weak man, so he wrapped his arm around Rafael’s waist and pulled him flush against him. He breathed in sharply, taking in the smell of his fiancé’s aftershave.

But when Sonny felt his blood start rushing south, and Rafael’s lust embracing him like a cozy blanket, he pulled away with an apologetic look. “Counselor, you can’t get me worked up when we’re about to leave.”

“It’s your fault you look so good,” Rafael complained, but took a step back to check himself in the mirror again. “You know that’s my favorite suit.”

Sonny did know. It was the light grey one that Rafael always told him made his eyes look even bluer.

“Yeah, which you chose, by the way,” he teased.

“Anyway,” Rafael rolled his eyes, but stepped towards him to smooth out Sonny’s lapels. “I’m going to Staten Island with you this Sunday.”

“Oh, so my mother’s threats got to you,” he joked, and straightened Rafael’s tie in return.

“No,” Rafael shot him a look as he exited the bathroom and picked up his briefcase from the chair in their bedroom. “But she’s my soon-to-be mother-in-law,” he continued, leaving the bedroom, Sonny trailing right behind him. “And I haven’t seen your family in two months. I’m sure your nieces don’t even remember me at this point.”

Sonny laughed as he helped Rafael into his coat. “Mia definitely does. And I don’t think Emilia could ever forget her favorite uncle.”

Rafael shot him a look as he held Sonny’s coat open for him. “That would be you. That baby learned to say your name before she could even call out for Bella.”

“She only said it because _you_ say it so much,” he argued, opening up the front door and gesturing for Rafael to walk out first. “So technically her first word came from you.”

“You saying that is not going to make Bella want to murder you any less,” Rafael joked, pressing the elevator button as Sonny locked their door behind him.

“Please,” Sonny scoffed. “Bella loves you more than she loves me.”

Rafael smiled fondly. “Precisely why I think it would be good for me to join you this Sunday,” the elevator dinged as it opened and they both stepped inside. “I haven’t seen everyone in a while and I think I should make the effort to see them a little more. We are getting married, after all.”

“‘Make the effort’,” Sonny mocked, but deep down he was pleased. And he knew Rafael knew. “Jesus, Raf. You sure know how to win over a guy’s family.”

“Shut up,” he grunted. “You know what I mean.”

“Raf, you know nothing makes me happier than seeing you with my family,” he reached for Rafael’s hand as the elevator opened again and they walked out, greeting the doorman as they left the building towards Sonny’s car. “And they love having you.”

“I know, I know,” he sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ll try harder.”

“Good,” Sonny smiled. “Ma will be happy.”

Sonny got into the car and turned the engine on as Rafael rounded it towards the passenger seat.

“Have you talked to your mother lately?,” Sonny asked as he drove out of the parking spot, making his way towards One Hogan Place.

“I have,” he nodded. “She’s excited about the wedding. Got a lot of suggestions,” Rafael chuckled, looking over at Sonny. “I’m surprised she hasn’t called you yet.”

“Oh, she has,” Sonny laughed. “Every other day. She wants me to side with her on the decisions.”

“God,” Rafael threw his head back dramatically. “I don’t know why she thinks she has a say on the decisions.”

“Because she’s your mother, Raf. You’re her only son. And, hopefully for me, this is the only time you’re ever getting married,” Sonny offered, looking over at Rafael for a second. “She wants to be involved.”

“If only her being involved didn’t give me a headache,” he whined, and Sonny laughed again.

They were halfway there when Sonny felt Rafael rest his hand on his thigh. He always did that when Sonny was driving, and he honestly loved it. It was such a small thing, but it spoke almost as loud as the feeling of devotion he felt panging in his chest.

“Sonny?,” Rafael called, his voice sounding smooth and even.

“Hm?,” he hummed in reply.

“This is the only time I’m ever getting married,” he told him, just as Sonny parked in front of the DA’s office.

Because how could it be any different? They were soulmates.

“Good,” Sonny smiled, leaning over to kiss his fiancé. “Have a good day.”

“You too,” Rafael smiled back, and pecked him on the lips. “Will you let me know if you need anything?”

Sonny nodded. “Of course.”

“Okay,” Rafael pecked him again and turned to open the door. “Bye.”

“Bye, Raf,” he waved. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he shot him one last smile and closed the door, standing tall as he made his way up the stairs and into the building.

Sonny watched him disappear in the crowd and sighed, driving away.

It had become a habit of his. Rafael said that every morning. “Let me know if you need anything.” Ever since the day he came home to find Sonny curled into a ball on their couch, trying to hold back his tears.

He had just carried the lifeless body of a little girl out of the woods, and Olivia told him to go home for the day.

Sonny thought about tapping into the bond then, to let Rafael know that he was off for the day. But Rafael would know that Sonny felt hollow, broken, a little bit desperate. He would worry, and he would drop whatever he was doing to go to Sonny.

So Sonny texted him, telling Rafael that he was home, and then kept quiet, hoping he would manage to get his spirits up by the time his fiancé came home. But he didn’t, and Rafael was not happy about that at all.

Sonny had been foolish, he realized later that same day. Because just by turning the bond up he felt better. He felt comforted, supported, and he felt Rafael’s fierceness burning inside himself.

He should have known better than trying to keep his soulmate in the dark.

And even though it had been two months, Rafael still told Sonny to reach out to him if he needed. Every day, as they parted ways and turned the volume of their soul bond down, Rafael would say that.

And it reminded Sonny that he was not alone, that he didn’t have to deal with anything on his own.

Sonny was grateful.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rafael struggles with the case, but Sonny is there for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know about you, but I definitely think Rafael is the type to try and anticipate disasters, while Sonny is the one who deals with it when it comes. Obviously both approaches have their pros and cons. So let's see how that plays out for the boys :D
> 
> Also I don't know a lot about wedding planning, so let's suspend disbelief, shall we? :P

Sometimes, when they had cases like the one Sonny was working on currently, Rafael worried. Ever since the day he found Sonny in fetal position on their couch. Ever since Rafael felt his hopelessness, his heartbreak coming through their bond. 

He worried because he wanted Sonny to open up to him when he needed him. And he didn’t like the idea of not being able to comfort his soulmate.

But mostly, Rafael felt guilty. 

Guilty because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut, he couldn’t turn it down for half a second. He just had to complain and complain about the whole soulmates program ordeal. 

Rafael wasn’t discreet about how much he disliked taking part in the program, especially because it seemed so much harder for him than it was for Sonny. Because Rafael wasn’t as tolerant, he wasn’t as patient.

Granted, he knew it was necessary. And he agreed to do it because the only other option would be closing their bond. And he would  _ never  _ go for that. 

But he complained so much, and he was so adamant about their limits and the rules, that he pressured Sonny into thinking he couldn’t turn the bond back up during the day if he needed to. He made Sonny think he would bother Rafael if he reached out to him.

And the guilt ate at him for months. 

“Good morning, Mr. Barba,” Carmen greeted as he turned the corner towards his office. “Ms. Calhoun called to confirm your lunch meeting.” 

“Already?,” Rafael scoffed. “She must be desperate. Wait a few hours then call her back to confirm it.” 

Carmen nodded, then handed him a cup of coffee. He smiled, pleased, and went into his office. He checked his schedule and found that it wasn’t as busy as it could be. Small blessings. 

But still, he had an arraignment in two hours that he needed to prepare for. So he asked Carmen for the pertinent files and got to work.

He was about to be done when his phone rang, Olivia’s name flashing on the screen.

“Hey, Liv,” he greeted. 

“Rafa, we need a warrant for the salon’s client list,” she told him in one breath. “They only have female employees. Only one their associates is male, but he was out of the country at the time of the attack.”

“So you’re looking at their customers,” Rafael completed, making quick notes. 

“Yeah, we’re going to cross reference the registry with the day our victim was there and see who pops up. They’re not being very cooperative, to be honest,” Olivia let out a long sigh.

“You’d think they’d be willing to help one of their own,” he said bitterly. 

“From what we’ve seen, most of the employers and employees do not identify as LGBT.”

“Oh great, so they’re just marketing on minorities. That makes it even better, doesn’t it?,” Rafael scoffed, twisting his pen in his hand with unnecessary force. “I’ll get you your warrant as soon as possible.”

“Are you okay?,” Olivia asked cautiously. 

“Peachy,” Rafael replied dryly. “I’ll let you know when I’ve got it.”

“Okay,” she said, and she sounded like she wanted to say something else, but thought better of it. “Thanks.”

He dropped his phone on his desk with a thud, running his hand over his face with an exasperated sigh. 

Rafael checked his clock. He had enough time to get the warrant typed, but probably not signed. “Carmen,” he called out and she strode quickly into his office. “Could you please check if Judge Barth is in her chambers? And if so, tell her I’m coming down in half an hour.”

Judge Elana Barth was the easiest to work with when it came to getting warrants, but she was also one of the busiest judges he knew. If he timed himself correctly, he could run into her chambers before he made his way to arraignment. 

He typed the warrant as fast as he could, his hand cramping only once in the process. 

Carmen informed him that Judge Barth was not in her chambers, but she spoke to her secretary and Barth should come back at any minute. Rafael groaned, rolling his eyes. That wasn’t good enough, but he would take it.

Rafael set all the files and papers he would need neatly in his briefcase, running out of One Hogan Place and towards the courthouse. 

He got to Barth’s chambers a little out of breath, but with no hair out place and his clothes perfectly lined. Thankfully, she had just arrived and was not in the mood for roundabouts, so Rafael went straight into all the details as she read the warrant and, with no hesitation, signed it.

“Liv, I got your warrant,” he told her as soon as he was back in the courthouse’s corridors, making his way to arraignment. 

Olivia sighed, relieved. “Good timing, Rafa. We just got another victim.”

His steps came to a halt, and he almost bumped into a defense attorney. “What?”

“He came into the precinct twenty minutes ago. It seems to be the same M.O. as the first victim,” she told him. “Same salon, a similar attack, they’re both gay, skinny, blonde with blue eyes.”

“He has a type,” Rafael spat. “So it’s a serial?”

“Seems like it,” Olivia said, and she sounded tired. Rafael could relate. “Are you coming down here?”

Olivia’s question gave him a jump start and he resumed his walking. “No, I’m actually on my way to arraignment. The Williams case. Can you send one of your Detectives to get the warrant?”

“Sure. I’ll send Carisi,” she said as if she was doing him a great favor. If only Olivia knew how right she was. 

“Great. Talk to you later,” Rafael disconnected the call and slipped his phone in his pocket. 

At least he had something to look forward to now. 

* * *

Arraignment was a mess. The victim wasn’t there, but the accused’s wife and daughter were. And they would not stop crying. Eventually, the Judge asked for them to be removed, which resulted in screaming and begging.

The only thing that kept him sane was the pulling sensation he felt in his gut halfway through the screaming match. Rafael looked up in time to see the door open and Sonny walk in, sitting quietly in the back of the gallery.

But to make the case worse, the Judge didn’t grant Rafael’s request to remand the defendant and set bail so low he was sure he would be out by the end of the day.

Rafael tried his best not to let his shoulders sag when the Judge’s gavel boomed across the room. Thankfully, Sonny approached him as he stepped away from the lectern.  

“Hey,” he smiled softly. “That was tough.” 

“Too bad you weren’t here for the screaming competition,” Rafael grimaced, pulling the warrant out of his briefcase and handing it to his fiancé, who promptly put it inside his jacket pocket. 

“Oh, I could hear it from down the street,” Sonny joked.

“So there’s another victim?,” he asked as he pushed the bar opened to meet Sonny on the other side. They walked together out of the courtroom.

“Yeah, same description as Arthur, but this attack happened two weeks ago. He only disclosed because he heard Arthur did.” 

Rafael narrowed his eyes. “How long has this place been opened?”

“About a month,” he sighed, knowing where Rafael’s train of thought was going.

“So there’s probably more,” it wasn’t a question. Rafael knew how it went. Soon there could be more disclosures. 

“We hope not,” Sonny ran his hand across his face. “But probably.”

Rafael nodded. “Go. I hope there’s something in the client list that’ll help you.”

“Are you okay?,” Sonny asked, his hand coming to rest on Rafael’s lower back as they walked. 

He wasn’t sure. He just wished he knew how Sonny was feeling. And something on his face must have shown, because Sonny hesitate for a moment. 

“Let me drive you back. My car is parked right by the entrance.”

Rafael shot him a look. “Sonny, it’s a two minute walk.”

Without saying anything else, Sonny reached for his phone. “Yeah, Rollins? I got the warrant. Listen, I’m at the courthouse, so I’m already only a few blocks away from the salon. Can you meet me there? Okay. Fifteen minutes, yeah. Thanks.”

He turned back to Rafael with a sweet smile and, if their bond wasn’t turned all the way down, Sonny would definitely be able to tell how relieved he was.

“There. We got fifteen minutes,” Sonny told him with a dimpled grin. 

* * *

As they walked into his office, Rafael had never been more grateful for the short distance between the courthouse and the DA’s office. He told Carmen to hold his calls and closed the door behind them.

Sonny immediately gathered him in his arms and opened their bond. 

The rush of love with a tinge of worry was enough to center Rafael. He could feel that Sonny was happy to be with him, and Rafael let himself be embraced by it. 

“What’s wrong?,” Sonny asked in a whisper, his lips pressed against Rafael’s temple. “Why are you so anxious?” 

“You know I can’t handle people screaming next to me,” Rafael said, self-deprecatingly. 

“Rafael, you know you can’t lie to me,” Sonny’s hands felt incredibly comforting going up and down his back. 

“It’s this case,” he sighed, pressing himself into Sonny’s chest. “Another serial? Targeting LGBT people? Skinny, blond, blue eyes?”

“Hey, hey,” he stepped back. “Look at me.”

Rafael almost protested the sudden distance, but looked up anyway. Sonny was so beautiful. He still took his breath away. 

“It’s too early on for you to be spiraling like this,” Sonny told him with a soft voice, reaching up to caress his cheek. “Maybe you should recuse yourself from this one.”

“No,” Rafael shook his head. “If I do, it’s going to set a precedent, and I can’t recuse myself every time there’s a hate crime against LGBT people.” 

Sonny pulled him back into his chest, and Rafael hugged him around the waist. He breathed in deeply, letting Sonny’s cologne overwhelm his senses. Sonny held him, a feeling of tranquility and security coming through their bond. Rafael’s chest tightened with it. 

It felt like meditation. With each breath, Rafael felt Sonny’s presence centering him. 

“Nothing’s going to happen to me,” Sonny told him, his voice smooth and deep. “I’m fine. You’re going to be fine. This is just another case. I’m still going back home to you every night. And nothing makes me happier. I love you, Rafael. You know that, right?”

Rafael almost laughed at the silliness of the question, but as he felt Sonny’s string of warm energy coming through to him, he choked. He could only nod, stepping back and reaching up to kiss him sweetly. 

He blindly reached for Sonny’s hand, the one with the ring, and intertwined their fingers. 

When Rafael pulled away, he felt more relaxed than he expected. “I love you, Sonny. Please promise me you won’t let this case get to you.” 

“I promise,” he nodded. “And if anything changes, I’ll let you know.”

Rafael sighed, relieved, and smiled. “Okay,” he said and kissed him again. 

They stood there for another moment, in each other’s arms, trading kisses and loving words, exchanging emotions and embracing each other’s. But soon, Sonny had to go. 

“I’ll talk to you later,” he pecked his fiancé on the lips one more time. “Take care of yourself.”

“You too,” Rafael squeezed Sonny’s hand and let go. “Now go. Save the day.” 

Sonny laughed, making his way to the door. “I love you, Raf.”

“I love you, too,” he replied, and felt the bond going down again as Sonny closed the door behind him.

* * *

When Rafael walked into the restaurant Rita had chosen for them, she was already waiting.

“Rita, if you think inviting me for lunch is going to make me reconsider your disgraceful plea offer, you’re dead wrong,” Rafael told her in one breath as he sat across from her.

“Wow,” Rita smirked at him over her drink. “What, Rafael? Old friends can’t share a meal anymore?”

Rafael shot her an unamused look. “ _ Old friends _ can. We don’t.”

Rita narrowed her eyes. “You haven’t been this grumpy in a while. In two years, actually. Trouble in paradise?”

He considered brushing her off. But this was Rita, and if he knew one thing was that Rita Calhoun would not coddle him. “It’s me. I’m stressed out. But what’s new about that?”

“Nothing,” she chuckled. “But humor me.”

“I’m worried this habit of keeping our bond turned down is driving Sonny and I apart.”

Rita blinked. Then laughed out loud. 

“That is the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. Rafael, you two are literally bonded. There’s no  _ apart. _ Besides, that boy completely idolizes you.”

“ _ Boy _ ? Rita, he’s thirty,” Rafael rolled his eyes. “A couple months ago I got home and he was lying on the couch in fetal position, crying his eyes out. An anxiety attack, I think. He had been home, alone, for hours. He was panicking, crying, devastated, all  _ alone _ , for hours. I could feel his despair when we finally turned the bond back up. It was like being shot in the chest.”

“Dramatic,” Rita muttered while taking a sip of her drink.

“I’m being serious,” he hissed through gritted teeth. “I had never felt anything like that coming from Sonny. And the fact that he didn’t reach out to me, that he preferred to go through that on his own, it just bothered me. Now SVU has a serial on their hands, targeting LGBT people, and he still won’t reach out to me.”

“Have you considered that maybe he doesn’t need to?,” Rita tilted her head, considering his words. “Some people do prefer to go through traumatic things on their own.”

Rafael shook his head. “Me, maybe. You, definitely. Not Sonny. Before we took the program his oversharing got out of hand more times than I can count. To be honest, even if we weren’t bonded, most days I’m sure he would love to talk about his feelings anyway.”

“Then what’s your theory?” 

He wasn’t proud of it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to share his guilt. It was embarrassing admitting, especially to Rita, that he started it all by being insecure and whiny. She would be delighted to hear that his demise was his own drama queen theatrics. 

“I think my skepticism put him off,” he sighed, resigned. “I whined about the soulmates program so much I’m sure he thinks it’s a big deal for me.”

“And is it?,” Rita asked, half-interested as she flagged the waitress to ask for a glass of scotch for Rafael.

“It wasn’t until he made it one.” 

“Then tell him that,” she looked back at him. “You’re not children, Rafael. I’m sure you can communicate very well. If you were capable of telling me all that, which, not surprising at all because you’re incapable of doing things you don’t want to do without running your mouth about how much you hate it, you can tell him.”

“But I tell him, every day, that he can reach out to me if he needs to,” he tapped his fingers on the table frustratingly. “Every  _ single  _ day, it’s already part of our morning routine now.”

“But he still won’t,” Rita asked, and Rafael shook his head. “Then I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe being bonded to you changed him and he doesn’t want to talk about his feelings anymore.”

Rafael sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case. “Thanks, Rita. You’re no help at all.”

“My pleasure,” she smiled a fake sweet smile. “Now, about that plea deal.”

* * *

Rafael was still trying to talk himself out of his spiral when the worst happened.

He was almost home, hoping that Sonny was already there, hands deep into his dinner prep, when Olivia texted him. 

SVU had been going through the salon’s client list all day, cross-referencing dates and checking alibis. He knew because Sonny had called him mid-afternoon to ask how he was doing and to tell him the warrant had been served. 

So when Olivia texted him saying that there was another victim, his stomach sank. 

_ This one didn’t make it _ , the text said. The perp had escalated to murder. 

Rafael felt his anxiety spike up. 

In a following text, Olivia assured him SVU didn’t need him yet, but she wanted to keep him in the loop in case there was a sudden need for another warrant. Especially an arrest one. 

On a whim, he texted her asking if she could relieve Sonny for the night. Her reply, however, was one he didn’t expect.

_ Just tried to. He refused to leave. He figured out you asked.  _

Rafael let out a long breath as his Uber stopped in front of their apartment building. 

He knew how Sonny felt about him meddling. And maybe he shouldn’t have, but it was a gut reaction to wanting to keep his soulmate safe. 

Rafael wasn’t known for irrational decisions, but that was before Sonny. That was before every single ounce of uncertainty, insecurity, worry, the other man felt, even when he shouldn’t, ran through him.

As he got out of the car and into the building, he could feel his heart pounding. 

For a moment, he considered doing an U-turn and going to the precinct, where he would at least have a general idea of what was going on and he could keep an eye on Sonny. But he knew that would make matters worse. 

If Sonny had refused to obey Olivia’s dismissal, that meant he was probably  _ very  _ angry, something that Sonny wasn’t often. That only added to his concern, because although he knew he was out of line with his request, it came from a place of honest caring. And he hoped Sonny knew that. 

Back at their dark apartment, Rafael went straight into the shower. A long, hot shower always helped. 

He waited for Sonny in the living room, sitting on the couch with his iPad on his lap. He scrolled through a couple of his favorite groom blogs to pass the time, and that alone brought a sense of stability back to him.

When he felt the well-known tug in his gut and heard the key turning the lock, Rafael set the iPad on the coffee table and turned to look at his fiancé’s. He did look annoyed, but as their bond turned back up, he noticed Sonny was more concerned than actually angry.

“Rafael,” he greeted, his voice low. He stepped into the room without taking his coat off, hands on his hips. “I don’t appreciate you using whatever leverage you have with my Lieutenant to get me special treatment.”

He raised both his eyebrows. “I wouldn’t consider coming home after you’ve found a dead body special treatment.”

“Unfortunately, that’s a part of my job and I can’t just run away every time it gets a bit ugly,” he said, frustratingly. “I told you I was fine, Rafael. I can handle myself.”

Rafael shot him a look and Sonny sighed.

“That was  _ one  _ time,” then realization seemed to dawn on him. “Is that what this is about? Are you still hung up on that?”

“I’m sorry if I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t reach out to me,” he stood up, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. “Am I not a good soulmate, Sonny? Because I thought my job was to comfort you. But you won’t let me in. I don’t want to use my friendship with Olivia for professional favors, but I also don’t want to come home to you laying on the couch having a panic attack.”

“Rafael,” he said softly, taking a step closer to him. “Can you feel our bond right now?”

Rafael nodded, frowning. Sonny took another step closer to him, taking his hand and placing it on his chest, right above his heart. 

“What do you feel?”

“Sonny…,” he sighed, sounding resigned. 

“No, listen to me,” Sonny said fiercely. “Tell me. What do you feel?”

He still didn’t understand what the point was, but he stopped to assess Sonny’s feelings anyway, letting it run through him, curl around him, embracing it with no hesitation. Sonny’s emotions always felt like sunshine on his skin as it thrummed through his veins. Rafael absolutely loved letting himself be consumed with it.

“Comfort,” he said, looking into his fiancé’s eyes. “Tranquility. Happiness. Love.”

“Yeah?,” Sonny smiled. 

“Mostly love,” Rafael nodded. 

“That’s because that’s all I can feel when I’m with you, Rafael,” Sonny told him in an adoring tone. “I know I made a mistake that night. And you know when I realized it?”

“When I yelled at you?,” he joked. He hadn’t yelled. But his voice had been close to the one he saved for cross-examinations.

“No,” Sonny snorted. “When you opened up the bond again and I could feel you. I realized all I needed to feel better was  _ you _ . And I’ve been fine ever since that day, haven’t I? And you wanna know why? Because of  _ you _ . Because I get to come home to  _ you _ , and leave it all behind me. Because  _ you  _ take care of me. You’re my balance, Rafael. Everything else is just white noise.”

“You should put that in your vows,” Rafael sniffed, tilting his head to kiss him, quick and warm. “I’ve been so worried. I thought you didn’t want me to know.”

“I noticed that you get a little anxious every night,” Sonny told him, and Rafael felt a spike of concern. “And I’m sorry, Raf. I’m sorry that my stupid choice made you doubt our bond. Because yes, these cases are hard, and we both know that it’s impossible not to let it affect you, but  _ you _ are my safe place. You make me forget.”

“But you know that you can still reach out to me, right?,” Rafael asked, reaching up to frame Sonny’s face with both hands. 

“Yes, I know. And I will, whenever I need you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Rafael, you silly man tsk tsk
> 
> Next chapter is very wedding planning-centric, but I wanna know: are you more interested in the wedding planning or the case? Please leave a comment and let's talk about it! Kudos are also very appreciated! :)
> 
> Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all have a great celebration night. See you on the 2nd of January <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonny and Rafael go wedding planning on Saturday, and to Staten Island on Sunday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2019, everyone! May this year be great to everyone. 
> 
> I still don't know much about wedding planning, but here we are! Enjoy :D

Rafael hates waking up to the sound of an alarm. He hates it even more when he’s startled awake by the sound of his or Sonny’s phone ringing. But mornings aren’t as bad when he gets to wake up naturally or when he’s slowly brought to consciousness by Sonny’s lips on him.

Which is why Saturday mornings were usually his favorites.

This particular Saturday morning, he couldn’t help but smile as he woke up to Sonny softly kissing his neck and chest. Sonny was always so affectionate it made Rafael weak in the knees. 

They never really engaged in PDA. Given their jobs, they kept their hands to themselves in public if not for the gentle touch here and there. But at home Sonny really didn’t hold back at all, and it made Rafael’s insides twist pleasantly. 

“Good morning,” Sonny muttered into his neck, placing kisses along his jaw. Rafael felt a heavy dose of adoration coming through their bond. “I love watching you sleep.”

Rafael chuckled, his eyes still closed. “That’s creepy, Detective.”

“Don’t care,” he mumbled, one of his hands coming up Rafael’s chest. “You just look  _ so  _ beautiful. Can’t help it.”

“Sonny, we’re already getting married,” Rafael sighed contently, leaning into his touch. “You’ve romanced me enough.”

“Never enough,” he said, his kisses going from Rafael’s jaw up to his cheek, his nose, his eyes, his forehead. “You are the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen, Rafael.”

Rafael felt his chest tightening at Sonny’s earnest words and gentle touches. He slowly blinked his eyes open, but his fiancé was so close to his face he couldn’t focus on him. 

“I’m glad you think so,” he hummed as Sonny’s kisses trailed across his forehead and temples. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

“Stop saying stuff like that,” Sonny complained and stopped right in front of his face, Rafael’s eyes finally adjusting to take him in. “Everyone sees it. You’re the only one who doesn’t notice how other people look at you.”

There was a fire behind Sonny’s eyes that almost had Rafael swallowing his tongue. He felt it in the pit of his stomach, too. It was a feeling of pride and possessiveness. 

“How do they look at me?,” Rafael asked innocently, running a hand through Sonny’s hair. He sighed and leaned into the touch, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. 

“Like they want you,” Sonny told him, his voice deep and dangerous. It was a confusing contrast to the soft, open expression of love he was sporting. “Like they’d trip over themselves for your approval. Like they know the force of nature you are.”

Rafael shook his head. “I think you’re seeing things, Sonny.”

“I’m not,” he said firmly, moving off the bed and towards Rafael until he was completely on his back, Sonny on top of him, their faces still inches apart. “Just yesterday when you came in for the line-up. The guy’s defense attorney was all over you.” 

“He was trying to intimidate me,” Rafael spread his legs so Sonny could settle between them, his hands caressing Sonny’s back gently. 

Sonny scoffed. “As if anyone would ever try that. He was trying to  _ impress _ you. And I know because I saw the way he was checking you out.” 

“So what?,” he raised an eyebrow. “You’re jealous?”

“No,” Sonny smirked. “Just trying to prove my point.”

“Which is?”

Somehow, Sonny managed to come even closer, gently rubbing their noses together in an eskimo kiss. “That everybody can see how gorgeous you are. And that they can look all they want. But you’re mine.”

Before he could joke about people not belonging to other people, Sonny claimed his mouth in a kiss that caused him to melt completely into the bed. His heart was pounding in his chest, his stomach flipping as Sonny pushed himself on his elbows to get a better angle. 

Some days he really could not believe how in love he was. 

He sent up a prayer to whoever signed Sonny up as his soulmate, because he really was the whole package. Hot, smart, a great kisser, mind-blowing in bed, an amazing cook and definitely the kindest person Rafael had ever met. 

Sonny had his tongue deep inside Rafael’s mouth and his hips were starting to pick up an interesting rhythm when his phone rang. 

Rafael groaned loudly as the other man pulled away. “If it’s Olivia tell her I’m never speaking to her ever again.”

Sonny had told his boss he was going to meet the caterer on Saturday, like he said he would. But Rafael promised him he wouldn’t ask Olivia to not have him on call. So he hadn’t. Rafael only hoped that wouldn’t cost them their Saturday.

The case had gone a little cold after the third victim. The client list came up empty, all but one of the male customers had alibis for the days of the attacks. Still, SVU cleared him when he didn’t match the victims’ description of their attacker.

The salon was closed on the weekends, thankfully, but Rollins was supposed to go undercover as a nail technician on Monday. 

“It’s not the Lieu,” Sonny told him before answering the call. “Hello? Yeah, that’s me. Of course. We’ll be there, definitely. Right. Thank you. See you later.”

“The caterer?,” he asked, pushing the covers away from him as he stood up. 

“Yep,” Sonny nodded. “Confirming our meeting.”

“Good. I’m going to take a shower,” he tried to move towards the bathroom, but Sonny grabbed him by the waist and pulled him back.

“No, no, no”, he whined. “Come on, I'll be quick.”

Rafael laughed as he let himself be manhandled back into bed. “You shouldn’t say that as if it is a good thing.”

Sonny smirked. “I’ll show you a good thing.”

* * *

Sonny and Rafael walked out of the elevator into the lobbie hand in hand, giggling about a picture of Sonny’s niece Bella had just sent. The little girl was precious, but she definitely took after the Carisis when it came to her dexterity.

Their doorman, Graham, jumped up from his post, all smiles. He was a middle aged man with a round middle and tiny glasses. Ever since they moved in, the man had shown Sonny and Rafael nothing but kindness and respect.

“Good morning, Mr. Carisi. Mr. Barba!,” he greeted as both men approached him. Graham clasped his hands together and looked at Sonny sheepishly. “Mr. Carisi, let me know if you need anybody to give your car a good wash.” 

Rafael and Sonny exchanged a look. They knew what that meant. Graham had a daughter and a teenage son, and sometimes he needed a little extra money to provide for his family, so he offered to wash Sonny’s car. 

“Is everything alright, Graham?,” Sonny asked. 

“Yeah, all good. It’s just that my daughter just got into college,” he ducked his head, shrugging. “Scholarship, but still she needs some material, you know. Books and stuff. And it’s expensive, so if you need anything, I’m your guy.”

_ Do you have cash on you? _ , Rafael tapped in.

“Graham, congratulations! You must be proud,” Sonny beamed, clapping the man on the shoulder with his free hand. 

_ Yeah, I’m thinking fifty?  _

“What school did she get into?,” Rafael asked.

The man shot Rafael a shy look, but preened as he said, “Fordham Law, sir.” 

Rafael almost laughed at the feeling of giddiness and satisfaction that came from Sonny.

“Hey, I used to go there! It’s a great school,” Sonny told him. Graham seemed even more pleased to know his daughter was going to the same school Sonny went. He always tripped over himself for Sonny. Apparently he was a big fan of New York’s finest. 

_ Scratch that _ , Sonny continued.  _ Better make it a hundred.  _

_ I have another idea. Would you be okay parting with a few of your books? They’re newer than mine.  _

_ You’re a genius, Raf. I’m fine with that, as long as she doesn’t mind my post-its. _

“It really is,” Rafael nodded. “And between Sonny and I, we definitely have more books than we need.” 

_ If your posts-its haven’t killed  _ me _ yet, I’m sure she’ll be fine.  _

Sonny gave his hand a little squeeze. “Oh, definitely. We even got two of the same ones. So how about you take those?” 

Graham looked between the two of them with wide eyes. “You mean it? You won’t need it?” 

“Not at all,” Rafael waved a hand. “They’ve been collecting dust for a while. It’s time they find a good home.”

“Rafael’s right. If you can find me a box, I’ll get them for you.” 

“Thank you so much,” he said, and Rafael was sure he looked a little misty eyed. “She’s gonna be so happy. I’ll get you that box, Mr. Carisi. And I hope she gets to work for people like you, Mr. Barba."

“It’ll be great working  _ with  _ her, Graham,” Rafael smiled fondly. “And let us know if she needs anything else. Law school is definitely a challenge, but we’d love to help.”

“That’s very kind of you, Mr. Barba,” he ducked his head again. “Thank you.” 

“Tell her she needs to come see Rafael in court,” Sonny told him proudly. “It’s art, Graham! Art!” 

The older man laughed, a deep booming laugh. “I’ll let her know, Mr. Carisi.”

“Have a great day, Graham,” Rafael smiled and pulled Sonny towards the door. 

_ We gotta stop at an ATM on the way back _ , Sonny told him as he waved Graham goodbye. 

* * *

Making decisions when you knew exactly how your soulmate felt about your suggestions could be challenging, but once again Rafael sent up a prayer for sharing a soul bond with someone like Sonny.

They saw eye to eye in almost everything and, when they didn’t, compromising felt like second nature. 

“Your family is flying in from Cuba for this, Rafael,” Sonny said, unconvinced as he looked over the menu options. It was their first meeting, and the caterer was trying to establish what their vision was before they selected dishes and drinks to be had. 

Rafael was set on having an all-Italian menu, but Sonny dimmed it unfair considering his Cuban heritage and the fact that two handfuls of his aunts, uncles and cousins were flying in for the wedding.

“So? That means they’ve been having plenty of Cuban food before getting here,” Rafael shot him a look. “At least 90% of our guest are non-Cubans so an Italian menu is a safe choice.” 

“Everybody loves Italian food!,” Clara, the caterer, interjected gleefully. She had been incredibly patient, thank God, and had given them many options of both Italian and Cuban menus.

“Exactly,” Rafael smiled. “Jack McCoy is not going to eat Cuban food, Sonny. So there’s no way we’re serving it. You know food is the one thing people remember about weddings. I’m not having the Manhattan District Attorney gossiping about our questionable menu choices.”

“Your mom is not going to like that,” Sonny mumbled.

“Oh, I see,” he chuckled, shooting Sonny an amused look. “My mother put you up to this. We’re definitely going with an Italian menu, then.” 

Sonny sighed, giving up. Rafael knew he couldn’t put up a fight when he could very well feel he was satisfied with the choice, but felt pressured by Lucia’s suggestions. 

“Perfect,” Clara jumped up in her seat, her long black hair falling like a curtain over her face. “So, we have a handful of options, which you can take home.”

She produced menus out of thin air, Rafael was sure, and handed it to them with a flourish. “You can mix and match these plates as you wish.” 

“How is there no tiramisu here anywhere?,” Sonny wondered out loud, going through the menus quickly.

“And feel free to add a few of your preference,” Clara added with a giggle. “Just make sure you have your decision made as soon as possible so we can prepare the dishes accordingly for our first tasting.” 

“Of course,” Rafael nodded. “We’re trying to choose a venue. Our schedules are not very helpful.”

She smiled sympathetically. “We’ll do our best to accomodate you.”

“Do you work with cakes?,” Sonny asked. 

“We do have a few signature options, yes. Would you like to set up a tasting for that as well?”

“That depends,” Sonny replied, leaning closer with a twinkle in his eyes Rafael knew too well. He was about to say something dumb. “Do you make tiramisu wedding cakes?”

“Sonny,” Rafael shot him a look as Clara laughed. 

“We’ve never had a request for one, Mr. Carisi,” Clara replied with a chuckle and Rafael was  grateful for her humoring his fiancé. 

“Well, take note!,” Sonny told her, beaming. 

“A tiramisu cake? Really?,” Rafael turned to him, curious.

“What? Jake McCoy doesn’t eat tiramisu?”, he teased, and Rafael laughed.

“Well, I guess he’s going to have to,” Rafael winked, relishing in the feeling of satisfaction that came from Sonny.

* * *

 

On Saturday night, Rafael and Sonny always debated whether to go out or have a quiet night in. They weren’t old yet and eventually did enjoy letting off steam at a dive bar somewhere downtown. Other times, they’d go to a fancy restaurant and seat in a corner booth, thigh to thigh, talking to each other in whispers. 

But tonight, Rafael was sitting on the couch, glass of wine in one hand, iPad in the other. Sonny was laying on the same couch, head propped up on the armrest as he rested his socked feet on his fiancé’s lap. 

The TV was on and Sonny had selected a silly Netflix sitcom, but he was currently scrolling through his computer, occasionally looking up to laugh at random jokes.

“Do you think we could visit one of these venues on your lunch break?,” Rafael asked, checking the calendar for one of the venues they were interested in.

Sonny looked up from his screen and winced. “With Rollins going undercover on Monday, I’m not sure when I’m gonna have one of those again.”

Rafael hummed in understanding. “I figured,” he took a sip of his wine and sighed. “We haven’t met for lunch in so long.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” Sonny poked Rafael’s thigh lightly. He could feel a wave of regret tightening around his shoulders. “But I’ve heard we’re getting a new Sergeant soon, so lunch breaks might be reinstated then.” 

“Oh yeah, Dodds’ son.” 

Sonny’s eyebrows shot up. “How do you know that?  _ I _ didn’t know that.”

“Olivia told me,” he smirked.

“Of course,” Sonny rolled his eyes dramatically. “Hey, do you think I should wear my uniform for the wedding?”

“I assumed you would,” Rafael tilted his head, putting his iPad to the side to massage Sonny’s feet slowly. “At least for the ceremony.”

Sonny sighed appreciatively. “Yeah, I was leaning towards a white tux, but then I reviewed the guest list. There are a lot of powerful people there, uh?”

“I’ve heard people refer to us as a  _ power couple _ , so it seems fitting.” 

“I guess we are a power couple,” Sonny had a pensive look for a couple seconds, then nodded his head and smiled. “Anyway, there’s the Manhattan and Brooklyn DAs, Judges, the Chief of Detectives, the Commissioner, and of course the Lieu and I’m guessing the new Sergeant will be added, too.”

Rafael nodded. “Yes. A few other ADAs, SVU’s old Captain, Captain Tucker, a few of your Fordham classmates, and even Rita, but she’s the only defense council who’ll step foot in our wedding.”

“Wow, you see? Yeah, I’m going to have to wear my uniform,” he smirked, giving Rafael a knowing look. “Good thing you like it.”

“I love it,” he smirked, running his hand up Sonny’s leg slowly. “Don’t blame me when I grab your ass in front of your favorite priest.”

Sonny giggled. “Father Peter is not gonna like that.”

“Father Peter is going to wish he was me.”

“Ew, Raf,” he pulled a face, smiling. “That’s gross.”

Rafael laughed, reaching for Sonny’s hand. “I love you, Sonny.”

“I love you, too. I can’t wait to marry you,” he squeezed Rafael’s fingers and beamed.

* * *

 

Rafael wasn’t really a believer, but being in church with Sonny definitely made him feel closer to God. Not out of his own faith, but out of Sonny’s raging passion as he mouthed back the priest’s words.

The intensity of the emotions coming from Sonny almost made Rafael dizzy. It coursed through his veins with unlimited amounts of confidence in the prayers, a sacred, blind trust that Rafael didn’t feel entitled to share, even though Sonny was happy to do so. 

If Rafael didn’t believe in God, Sonny would believe Him for the two of them, he had said. And he did. 

Although Rafael was very much aware that it was a crude comparison, and definitely one that would cost Rafael some sort of penitence, he couldn’t help but notice that the only other time he felt Sonny being this enveloped in such a high state of devotion was when they were making love. 

So he watched his fiancé in silence, not really participating in the chanting and praying, but having his own religious experience as Sonny’s waves of faith and belief washed over him in a rhythm as soothing as the priest’s voice. 

* * *

“How’s the wedding planning going?,” Bella asked as she set a glass of scotch on the coffee table in front of him. His hands were currently busy holding Emilia in his lap.

“Slower than I hoped,” he chuckled. “Our schedules are unpredictable and with SVU being understaffed, I barely get to see Sonny during the day if not for official business.”

Bella hummed in understanding, picking up one of her daughters toys and shaking it in front of her with a smile. Emilia giggled, pulling the doll out of her mother’s hand and thrusting it against Rafael’s chest. She mumbled something that didn’t sound like words at all, but Rafael smiled and nodded.

“I agree, Emilia,” he said, and she giggled some more. 

“Ma has told the entire neighborhood that Sonny is marrying an Assistant District Attorney,” Bella smirked. “She’s saying the mayor will be at the wedding.”

Rafael barked a laugh, and Emilia looked up at him with a big smile. “He definitely won’t be.”

“Don’t tell her that, she’ll be heartbroken,” she teased. 

Rafael moved Emilia so she had her back resting on his stomach. He took her doll and held it in front of her, singing a little Spanish lullaby as he made it look as if the toy was singing it. Emilia clapped her hands off-rhythm, rocking on Rafael’s lap with all the strength her little body could muster. 

He was almost done with the song when he felt an intense wave of fondness bubbling up in his chest, and he looked up to see that Sonny was watching him from across the room. 

Sonny was standing by the dinner table with his father and Tommy, each one with a drink in hand. When their eyes met, Sonny smiled. 

The distraction caused him to stop singing, which Emilia did not appreciate. She squealed and grabbed the doll by the head, shaking it in what Rafael suspected was a failed attempt to imitate his movements from earlier.

“Objection,” Rafael said in a soft voice. “That behaviour would have you held in contempt of court, young lady.”

Emilia turned her head to look at him, her big, blue eyes wide. “Uncle Sonny?,” she said. 

Rafael laughed out loud again, turning her in his lap to face him. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, kid.” 

Bella laughed too, taking the doll from Rafael. “Emilia, can you say ‘uncle Raf’?”

They watched as she snapped her gaze between her mother and Rafael, assessing them. Rafael almost laughed again at how much he could see Sonny in that simple action. 

“Say ‘uncle Raf’, Em,” Bella encouraged. 

Emilia tried, but the sound she managed to produce sounded much closer to “rough” than to Raf.

“I’m going to teach her some Spanish when she gets a bit older,” Rafael told Bella. 

“Be my guest,” she chuckled. “It’s not like I can teach her any Italian.” 

“Rough,” Emilia said, resting her face on Rafael’s ribs. He snorted, running his fingers gently on the top of her head, brushing through her soft blonde hair. “Rough, rough, rough."

“That’s cute,” he said, half-joking.

“Do you want children?,” Bella asked, taking in the scene in front of her. 

“It’s not on the table right now,” Rafael shook his head. “With our jobs, a child doesn’t really fit.”

“Makes sense,” she nodded. “Hell, you can barely plan your wedding.”

Rafael was about to vent about how actually frustrating it was when he was caught by surprise by a wave of annoyance that hit in the stomach. He looked up to see that Gina’s newest boyfriend had joined the group by the table, and the frown on Sonny’s face was very deep.

“What do you think is going on there?,” he asked Bella, tilting his head towards the men. 

Bella followed his movement and groaned loudly. “Gina’s boyfriend, Mark. He’s honestly an asshole. Nobody likes him, not even Emilia.”

_ Is everything okay?, _ Rafael tapped in, and he was pleased to see Sonny’s frown instantly soften a little. 

_ Yeah, fine. Gina’s boyfriend is being a dumbass again. _

“I don’t believe I’ve met him,” Rafael said, keeping an eye on the group. He had seen Mark in church, but the two hadn’t been formally introduced. 

“Lucky you. He hasn’t managed to make a good impression on anyone so far.”

“How long have they been together?,” he asked.

Bella, however, didn’t get a chance to reply. The wave of annoyance Rafael was feeling turned into a punch of blinding rage at the same time he heard a glass shattering on the floor. 

In a second, Sonny had Gina’s new boyfriend held by the collar of his shirt, his face twisted in a look of pure anger. In the two years and half they had been together, Rafael had never seen Sonny look like that.

“What did you just say?,” Sonny yelled, inches away from the guy’s face. “Have you lost your damn mind?”

To his surprise, Tommy and Dominick, Sr. were not trying to pull Sonny away from the other man. They were actually standing just as close to Mark, glued to Sonny’s sides, yelling at the guy as well. 

“Shut the hell up,” Tommy said through gritted teeth. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

Gina, Theresa, Mia and Sonny’s mother all came out of the kitchen at once, looking incredibly confused. 

As gently as he could given the urgency of the situation, Rafael handed Emilia to Bella and stood up, approaching the scene cautiously. “What’s going on?,” he asked. “Sonny, let him go.”

“What are you doing?,” Gina squealed. 

“Gina, get this boy out of here,” Dominick, Sr. growled at his daughter, pulling him away from Sonny and pushing him with unnecessary force towards her. “He will never set foot in my house ever again, do you hear me?”

“What happened?,” Tessa, Sonny’s mother, asked as she watched Gina and her boyfriend stumble out through the front door. 

Rafael crowded Sonny instantly, framing his face with both hands. “Are you okay? What was that?”

Sonny only shook his head, looking down at his feet as he tried to get his breathing under control. Rafael could still feel anger burning inside him, but he tried to find in him something that would sooth Sonny.

“Hey, do you want to go home?,” he asked, his voice just above a whisper. “We can go.” 

“No,” Sonny shook his head again. “I’m sorry, I-”

Sonny looked up and Rafael felt a pang on his chest at the hurt look on his face. “Sonny, what happened?” 

“I won’t repeat what he said,” Sonny mumbled, stepping closer to Rafael to hug him by the waist. “I can’t.”

“It’s fine, you don’t have to,” he gave Sonny the best encouraging smile he could muster. “Are you going to be okay?” 

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Sonny,” Dominick Sr. called and waved him over. “Come here.”

Rafael hated that Sonny let him go, but watched quietly as the two Carisi men left the room side by side. Without hesitating, he approached Tommy.

“What the hell happened?,” he asked. 

Tommy shook his head and grimaced. “Don’t make me repeat it, man.”

“Fine,” Rafael huffed. “Can you give me the gist of it?”

“He was being disgustingly homophobic,” Tommy told him and Rafael’s jaw dropped. That was not what he was expecting. “Said some pretty nasty stuff about your bond. For some reason he thought Dom and I were going to back him up.”

“But you didn’t,” Rafael nodded as Tommy shook his head. “Thank you.”

“Nah,” Tommy waved a dismissive hand. “I wish I had punched him right in the teeth, broken a few.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. He’d probably press charges.”

“Ah, right,” he snorted. “Forgot you’re a lawyer.”

“I take offense to that,” Rafael joked. 

Rafael waited impatiently for Sonny and Dominick Sr. to come back, but he was happy to notice his soulmate had calmed down. His father was probably giving him a pep talk, if the hopeful feeling was anything to go by. 

Tommy was trying to explain to Tessa what had happened without giving much detail when Sonny walked back in, his face no longer twisted in anger. He looked calm, and Rafael made sure to send his happiness and relief at seeing his soulmate travelling through the bond. 

Sonny marched straight towards Rafael, held his face in his hands and kissed him, soft and loving. It was a chaste kiss, considering they were in his parents’ house, in the middle of their living room, but it made Rafael glassy eyed anyway. 

“I love you,” Sonny whispered when they parted. “And I don’t care what an ignorant piece of crap says. You’re everything to me, Rafael.” 

He smiled, reaching up to caress Sonny’s cheek. “I love you, too.” 

Rafael almost leaned in for another kiss, but he heard someone clear their throat beside him and turned to see Dominick, Sr. looking at them with a soft expression. 

“Rafael, I wanted to remind you that you’re always welcomed in this house,” he told him, his voice full of certainty. “You’ve always been part of our family and we look out for each other, okay?"

“Thank you, Dominick,” he smiled. “I won’t forget it.”

Rafael felt Sonny’s love embrace him the same way his family did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to explore their bond in various settings, hence the exchange with the doorman and the homophobic asshole. We're back to the case next chapter!
> 
> The kudos have been a little low for this story :( This is probably going to be the last installment for this series, but do let me know if you're enjoying it via kudos and comments. They're very motivating!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonny and Rafael's quiet night in gets interrupted when SVU finds another victim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of this series has recently hit 800 hits! Thank you to everyone who went back to read it from the beginning <3

Sonny was frustrated. It was Friday night, and Rollins had been working undercover at the salon since Monday, but came up empty every day.

He knew the clock was ticking. And it terrified him that they might get another victim soon. 

When the salon closed for the day, Rollins came back to the precinct to brief them on whatever she thought was relevant. She looked as stressed as Sonny felt, and with a heavy sigh and her brow furrowed, Olivia dismissed them. 

Sonny got home sooner than he expected and decided to cook himself and Rafael some dinner. It was an easy distraction for him, but as he grated a block of cheese with more force than necessary and came close to losing a fingertip, the Detective took a step back to gather himself. 

The last victim, Karl Doyle, had been raped and murdered, his body dropped five blocks away from the salon. He was only 23, a promising art student about to graduate, happily living with his soulmate. 

Sonny hadn’t been there to take the soulmate’s statement, but while reviewing statements for Rollins, he read the report of the interview. 

Rollins had previously told him everything he needed to know that was pertinent to the case, but it wasn’t surprising to find details there that he hadn’t heard before. And, in the midst of his statement, was a short description of what he felt when his soulmate was attacked and killed. 

Sonny felt sick to his stomach reading it, feeling heartbroken for the guy who had felt every second of his soulmate’s agony, who felt the life leave his body as Karl drowned in fear and desperation. The hopelessness, the despair of not being able to help, of not really being sure what was happening until SVU knocked on his door with the terrible news. 

He wanted to reach for Rafael when he was done reading the report, even if just to tell him he loved him, to get some sort of comfort. And Sonny was about to open their bond when the Lieutenant called everybody into the office and told them to go through the investigation from another angle. From there, they fell into an abyss of paperwork and phone calls, and Sonny was thankfully distracted. 

Until that very moment, when everything came crashing down on him again. 

_ Are you on your way home? _ , he tapped into the bond as he turned the volume back up. He got a wave of tiredness and a headache pressing at his temples. 

_ Probably not leaving for another forty minutes,  _ he replied and there was a pause. Sonny suspected Rafael was trying to make sense of what he was feeling.  _ Are you okay? What happened?  _

He wasn’t sure what he was sending down their bond, but judging by how hopeless, frustrated and lost he felt, it definitely wasn’t good. 

_ Nothing happened, I’m fine. I just- _

Sonny hesitated, and he knew he shouldn’t. But Rafael was definitely busy, and he didn’t need to be coddled, even though he wanted to be. He wanted to tell Rafael he needed him, like he promised he would, he wanted to tell him to come home. 

_ I’m leaving right now _ , Rafael told him. Sonny let out a long sigh of relief. 

About twenty five minutes later, when he felt that familiar pulling at the back of his neck, Sonny couldn’t help but smile. 

Rafael had left the bond open on his way home, and that was enough to center Sonny again. There were constant waves of calmness washing over him, gentle and comforting. He knew it was Rafael trying to get his thumping heart to beat normally again.

When the door opened, Rafael dropped his briefcase by the door, which he hardly ever did, and went straight to Sonny, pulling him into his arms, a sense of protectiveness enveloping him tightly. 

“I’m sorry,” Sonny breathed into Rafael’s neck. “I didn’t mean to alarm you, I just needed to be closer to you.”

“Don’t apologize,” Rafael pulled him closer, running his hands in soothing circles up and down his back. “I’m glad you reached out to me. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I read the victim’s soulmate statement,” he told him in a pained voice, and he hoped that said enough. Judging by the sudden apprehension that followed, Sonny guessed it did. 

“He felt it,” Rafael concluded, his voice small. “Jesus Christ.” 

Rafael held him a little longer, then pulled back slightly just to lean in again and kiss him. It was a small, soft and warm kiss. A kiss that didn’t go nowhere, but that told Sonny everything he needed to know. 

“I love you,” Rafael told him in a whisper. “I love you so much, Sonny.” 

Sonny smiled, placing another short, sweet kiss on his fiancé’s lips. “I love you too, Raf. Why don’t you shower and change? I’m almost done with dinner.” 

“Are you going to be okay?,” he asked, his voice even but his eyes shining with emotion. Sorrow. 

Sonny nodded slowly. “I’m better already. Thank you for coming home.”

“I always will, Sonny. I’ll always be here for you,” Rafael told him, his voice fierce, dripping with intent. 

Rafael stroked his face for a moment, looking into his eyes with familiar intensity. Sonny smiled, trying to tell Rafael not to worry too much. He pecked his lips once, twice, and slowly turned back to the stove. 

When his fiancé disappeared into the bedroom, Sonny felt his shoulder loosening slightly. Just knowing Rafael was home had that effect on him. His headache had, surprisingly, subsided. 

Sonny got back to making dinner with new found energy, embracing his soulmate’s presence with his whole body. Between one chop and one stir, a line from the report would pop in his head and it felt like being sucker punched every time. 

He was sure Rafael felt it too, because after every recollection, came a wave of hopeful optimism. Sonny smiled. 

A while later, Rafael came out of the bedroom wearing grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt with a weird logo Sonny didn’t recognize. It looked like an old brand of canned food. 

“What are we having?,” Rafael asked as he walked back into the kitchen, curious. 

“Your favorite,” Sonny looked at him over his shoulder and smiled fondly. Rafael came up to him easily, wrapping his arms around Sonny’s waist and hooking his chin on his shoulder.

“Oh, is it four cheese cream pasta?” 

Sonny nodded as he served two plates. “Do you want to set the table?”

“How about we eat on the couch? I can get a cozy blanket from the bedroom,” he offered, hugging Sonny tighter. 

“Sounds perfect.” 

Rafael placed a soft kiss on the back of Sonny’s neck and walked back into the bedroom. He came out with their favorite blanket, the soft, dark blue one. He placed it on the couch and lighted a few candles around the living room. 

Sonny watched with a small smile as his fiancé turned the TV on just to play a video of a digital fireplace that looked and sounded like a real one. He served them each a glass of white wine, and waited for Sonny on the couch. 

God, he loved this man so much. He felt like his heart was about to dig a hole through his chest with how strongly it was beating.  

Rafael  _ cared  _ so much Sonny felt like curling into his lap and never leaving. He felt protected, supported, taken care of. He never wanted to leave his side.

So Sonny picked up both plates and walked into the living room with a big smile, his eyes wrinkling with the intensity of it. He just couldn’t help it. He was just  _ so  _ happy when he was with Rafael. 

“Here you go,” he handed his plate to Rafael and sat beside him, thigh to thigh, their arms brushing with every little movement. 

They took a moment to adjust the blanket over themselves before they settled, comfortably sharing heat, even though it was still mid-August. 

Rafael moaned shamelessly as he took a big bite of his pasta. Sonny couldn’t even pretend that didn’t affect him in more ways than one. 

“Sonny, this is amazing,” he groaned, taking another bite and moaning some more.

“Thanks, but you gotta stop doing that,” Sonny said, swallowing hard. He could feel a flash of heat spreading through his body. 

Rafael chuckled, taking a sip of his wine. “Sorry, it’s just that it’s  _ that  _ good. I don’t think I’ve even had a meal today, so this is making my taste buds sing.” 

Sonny narrowed his eyes at him, his fork stopping mid-air. “What did we say about your eating habits?” 

“That it’s absurd and I should do better?,” Rafael offered with a sheepish look. 

“Something like that,” he nodded. “Seriously, Raf. You promised me.” 

“I know, I know. I did eat, just not an actual meal.” 

Sonny wasn’t convinced. “Yeah? What did you eat? Half a bagel? A muffin?” 

Rafael rolled his eyes, then looked at him, smirking. “A meatball sub,  _ Daddy _ .” 

Sonny choked on a sip of wine and couldn’t hold back a coughing fit, his face growing red. “Rafael…,” he said warningly. “Don’t start.” 

“You started it,” he shrugged, and Sonny should probably be annoyed at the bratty tilt of his chin. But he very much wasn’t. And if the lick of arousal coming from Rafael was anything to go by, he knew that. 

“And I’m stopping it,” Sonny said, but he wasn’t surprised at the lack of heat in his voice. “Eat your damn food.” 

“As you wish...,” Rafael turned to look at him with feigned shyness. “Daddy.”

“I swear to God!,” Sonny groaned and Rafael laughed. 

* * *

Sonny was sitting in bed, his back propped up against the headboard, sighing happily with the weight of Rafael on his lap as they traded small, soft kisses.

They were both still naked, but cleaned up, wipes forgotten on the floor. Sonny’s ears were still buzzing with the intensity of the orgasm he had just had, his skin sensitive. 

Sex had never been bad, with anyone, but it also had never been as good as it was with his soulmate. Not only because he loved Rafael with every fiber of his being, but because he felt everything Rafael felt. The thrill, the desire, the pleasure; they shared everything. 

Rafael kept running his hands through Sonny’s hair, his favorite thing to do, sighing into his mouth, nipping at his bottom lip, humming in appreciation. Sonny kept his hands on Rafael’s thighs, keeping him in place, caressing his skin with the tip of his fingers. 

It was heaven, and Sonny had long forgotten the horrible words he had read when his phone rang loudly from the living room. He almost jumped out of his skin at the sudden, shrill interruption of their little moment. 

Rafael gave him one last, long kiss before leaning back and getting up from his lap. “I think I need another shower,” he considered, but instead of getting up, he laid on his stomach beside Sonny. 

“You’re amazing,” he leaned down to kiss his cheek as he stood up quickly, running into the living room to grab his phone. He frowned when he saw his Lieutenant’s name on the screen. 

“Hey, Lieu,” he greeted. 

“Carisi, there’s been another victim,” she said, and his heart sunk. He bit his tongue, taking a deep breath. “He’s alive, but not in the best shape. I’m on my way to the hospital, can you meet me there?” 

Sonny looked up to see Rafael standing in the doorway to their bedroom, now dressed in his underwear, a frown on his face that Sonny was sure mirrored his own. 

“Yeah, I’ll meet you there in 20,” Sonny said, his voice hoarse, and hung up. 

“Another one?,” Rafael asked, his expression as neutral as possible, but Sonny could feel his apprehension. 

“Yeah,” he nodded. “He’s alive, though.” 

“Good,” Rafael nodded and waved him over. “Come on, jump into the shower quick, I’ll take out a suit for you.” 

He didn’t exactly have time to shower, but he probably should. There was only so much a baby wipe could do. 

So he jumped into scorching water, scrubbing himself as thoroughly as possible. He tried not to let his mind wonder, but it was impossible. Did this victim have a soulmate as well?  Were they at home now, feeling the hurt and pain their soulmate was feeling, unable to tell what was going on? Unable to reach them?

When he came back into the bedroom, there was a suit spread out for him on the bed. It was a simple, dark grey jacket, no vest in sight, only a white dress shirt and a black tie, which was already tied. 

He dressed quickly and combed his hair back with the smallest amount of product. There was no time for his signature coif. 

When he exited the bedroom, already with a feeling of unease creeping up to him, he caught sight of Rafael in the kitchen pouring coffee into two separate travel mugs. Sonny’s wallet, car keys, phone, badge and gun were all waiting for him on the dinner table. 

“Rafael, I have no idea what I’d do without you,” he said as he holstered his gun and placed his badge on his hip. 

“And you’ll never have to find that out,” Rafael told him, handing him both mugs and kissing him sweetly. “Yours is in the black mug, lots of cream. Liv’s is in the blue one, lots of sugar.” 

“You’re perfect,” he muttered, taking a sip from the black mug and then pecking his fiancé on the lips again.

Sonny made his way to the door, but stopped before reaching for the doorknob. He turned back to look at Rafael, who was still watching him from the dining room. 

“Can I leave the bond open?,” Sonny asked, and he felt relief flood through him. 

Rafael smiled. “Please.” 

“If you need to turn it down to sleep, I-“ 

“I won’t,” he shook his head. “Now go. Be safe.” 

“Always am,” he smiled. “I love you, Raf.”

“I love you, too.” 

* * *

The kid was in hysterics, and not even Olivia’s soothing tone helped. He just kept kicking and screaming until doctors sedated him. That wasn’t great news for them, but the victim’s emergency contact, his mother, was on the way and it was SVU’s job to talk to her.

The doctor’s preliminary exam definitely showed signs of rape, and there were visible ligature marks around his neck, she said, but they’d have to wait for him to wake up to do a rape kit. Olivia let out a deep breath, taking a long sip of the coffee Sonny had brought and thanked him profusely for. 

“Dodds has already called me three times,” Olivia said as she sat down. “We’ve got a serial rapist and nothing to go on.” 

Sonny could only nodded meekly, taking a seat beside her. “Rollins has only been undercover for a week, but I’m sure we can go over her notes and see what pops up now with this attack.”

“I’ve texted her what we’ve got so far and she asked for a picture of the victim, see if she recognizes him,” she said as she turned the phone for Sonny to see the picture she had sent. 

They waited for the victim’s mother and, when she came, Sonny let his Lieutenant take the lead.

She said her son wasn’t bonded, and Sonny felt his shoulders relax the littlest bit. Olivia made a few personal questions, and they found out this victim, much like the last one, studied at Hudson University, but took a different major. He was a philosophy student, while Karl had been studying art.

Still, Sonny took note to check if their timetables overlapped at any point. 

When the mother excused herself to go talk to the doctor, Sonny and Olivia sat back down. He wasn’t sure how long they would have to wait for the victim to wake up, but it would be at least one hour, so he tapped into the bond.

_ Hey, we might be awhile here,  _ he said. 

Sonny could feel Rafael was still up, even though it was almost midnight. He could feel Rafael’s concern and a growing warm feeling accompanied by a sweet taste on his tongue that told him his soulmate was having some type of herbal tea.

_ I figured. I’m going to bed soon.  _

He knew Rafael wanted to stay up to wait for him, but if Sonny wasn’t going to have a good night’s sleep, at least Rafael should.

_ Is he going to be okay?,  _ Rafael asked.

_ He’s sedate right now, but he’s not running any major risks at the moment. We’re waiting to take his statement.  _

_ Okay. Be safe, Sonny. Wake me up when you get home. _

Sonny smiled despite himself.  _ Okay. Goodnight.  _

_ Goodnight. I love you, Sonny.  _

_ I love you too, Raf. _

* * *

As Sonny dragged his feet through their hallway, he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. The victim’s testimony was exactly the same as the first two, and he had been in the salon on Monday.

They sent Amanda everything she needed to check, including security footage, but the salon was closed for the weekend so, once again, they’d have to wait for her to go back in on Monday. 

And the clock continued ticking. 

SVU hadn’t managed to find a pattern yet. There wasn’t a specific day of the week, time of the day, the attacks seemed random if not for all the victims having been at the salon. There was no DNA match, no fingerprints, no street cam. 

Sonny dreaded what could happen next. 

He opened the door as silently as he could, walking into the dark apart with quiet steps. He left his shoes by the door and tiptoed towards the bedroom while unholstering his gun and placing it in his drawer as soon as he walked in. 

Sonny put his badge on the bedside table and took a moment to look at Rafael, sleeping peacefully. He was laying on his stomach, one hand under his head, the other one under Sonny’s pillow. He felt his heart clench at the sight.

He removed his clothes and neatly placed them on the chair by the bathroom - Rafael didn’t like it when he left them a mess - and slowly made his way into bed. 

“Hey, Raf,” Sonny whispered as he snuggled closer to his soulmate, carefully removing his hand from under him. “I’m home.” 

Rafael hummed and rolled closer to him, now resting the hand that was under his pillow on his chest, right over his heart. 

“I love you,” Sonny whispered, and Rafael hummed again.

Smiling, Sonny let the calming motion of his soulmate sleeping rock him to sleep.

* * *

When Sonny woke up, he was in bed alone. He could smell bacon and coffee, and he could feel Rafael’s general feeling of belonging coursing through his veins. It was a nice thing to wake up to.

_ Don’t get up,  _ Rafael told him.  _ I’ll bring you breakfast. _

Sonny smiled softly, turning from his belly to lay on his back. He let out a big yawn and stretched, his shoulder popping pleasantly.

A couple minutes later, Rafael walked into the bedroom holding the wooden tray they bought when they moved in, but only used once since. 

Sonny smiled, his mouth watering at the smell. He hummed appreciatively at the display when his fiancé set the tray beside him. There were eggs, bacon, toast, smoked salmon bagels, coffee, orange juice, strawberries and cream. 

“Jesus, Raf,” he said, going for the coffee first. “This is quite the spread.” 

“I’m glad I timed it all correctly,” Rafael said proudly as he kicked his slippers off and climbed into bed. “Did you know I can tell you’re about to wake up ten minutes before you do?”

Sonny raised an eyebrow at him, curious. “Really? How?”

“You just slowly start buzzing with energy. It’s like when you’re inside a cold room and walk out in the sun and it gradually starts warming you up,” Rafael told him casually as he bit into a piece of toast. 

Rafael had the habit of saying and doing romantic things and acting super casual about. It had left Sonny speechless on many occasions, while Rafael went about his day as if it was nothing.

“That’s really sweet,” Sonny leaned in to place a kiss on his cheek. “And thank you for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome,” Rafael smiled softly and rearranged himself on the bed until he was sitting with his back against the headboard, the tray between them. He reached for his own cup of coffee and Sonny felt the deep feeling of satisfaction curling around his stomach as the ADA took a long sip. “What time did you get home last night?” 

“Around 2am,” Sonny sighed, picking up half a bagel. “He was in complete shock, would not stop screaming.”

“Understandable,” Rafael nodded. “Anything different from the past attacks?”

“Nope,” he frowned. “The exact same details, down to the smell of nail polish remover.”

Rafael took another bite of toast, looking thoughtful. “Was he bonded?” 

“No, thank God,” Sonny took a small bite of the bagel and chewed slowly. It tasted amazing, and he felt tenderness grow in his chest. After taking another sip of coffee he said, “I can’t help but feel like a victim being bonded actually means we have two victims.” 

“I was thinking just that,” he nodded. “At it makes me feel uneasy that I can only prosecute the perp for one crime, when actually two lives were ruined.” 

Sonny sighed. “There oughta be a law.”

“The law barely protects soulmates as it is,” he argued, sounding dejected. “At least they make a good witness.” 

“Hey,” Sonny reached for Rafael’s hand and squeezed it. He could feel Rafael growing restless, and he couldn’t have that. “Let’s change the subject, okay? Let’s enjoy our breakfast.”

Rafael nodded. “You’re right. Do you like the bagel?” 

“It’s delicious,” he took a big bite as if to prove his point. 

“I see,” he snorted. “Don’t forget the bacon.” 

Sonny nodded, reached for a fork, stabbed a couple pieces of bacon and stuffed it in his mouth. His cheeks were full, but Rafael was beaming, and that was worth it, along with the feeling of appreciation. 

“You’re a child,” Rafael joked. 

“It’s really good,” he said through a mouthful. 

“Manners, Dominick,” he teased. “I was thinking we could go over the menu options we got from Clara and try to schedule a tasting for next saturday. We also need to take your uniform out of storage to see in what condition it’s in.”   

Sonny raised both his eyebrows and swallowed, taking a long sip of coffee to help it down. “What do you mean by ‘condition’? I take good care of my uniform, I’ll have you know.”

Granted he hadn’t had a reason to wear it in a couple years, and it could definitely do with a trip to the dry-cleaners before the wedding, but it was in pristine condition, kept safely in a suit bag in the back of their closet. 

“I believe you,” Rafael nodded, reaching for his fork to grab a mouthful of eggs. “But you haven’t worn it in a while and we can’t risk it.”

“Well yeah, it couldn’t hurt to check it,” he shrugged. “But you could also just admit that’s an excuse to see me in it.”

Rafael turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “Do I need an excuse?”

“No,” Sonny smirked. “But you can just ask, Raf.”

“Okay, then finish breakfast and go put it on.”

Sonny almost choked on another bite of bacon, feeling excitement building in his chest. He turned to see Rafael giving him his best “I don’t back down from a challenge” look and swallowed hard. 

“Fine,” he nodded, and if he started eating faster after that, it was only because he was very hungry and nothing else. 

When eventually most of the food was gone and Rafael was dipping strawberry in cream to feed him, Sonny took one bite and stood up, buzzing. He heard his fiancé chuckle at the sudden bolt of energy that went down the bond as he made his way straight to the closet. 

“I’m gonna put this on,” Sonny said, reaching blindingly for the garment bag that held his suit. “Don’t you move from that bed, mister.”

Rafael hummed. “Are you going to put on a show for me, Detective?”

Sonny almost tripped on his own feet at the sultriness of Rafael’s voice and the strike of want that panged in his gut. “Jesus, Rafael. Give me five minutes.” 

He didn’t dare to look at the ADA on the way to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He’d lose any will to put clothes  _ on  _ if he did. 

So taking a deep, calming breath, Sonny opened the bag and started putting on his beloved dress uniform. He was glad to find it was still nicely tailored around his chest and ass. He could definitely see the appeal as he checked himself in the mirror. 

Wetting his hand slightly, he pushed his hair back and placed the cap nicely on his head, smiling at the picture of a seriously official police officer staring back at him. He was always proud of wearing that uniform, especially when he got to display all his pins and badges. 

Sonny smoothed his lapels nicely, grinned and opened the door back into the bedroom. Rafael was sitting in the same position he was before, the little box of strawberries now in his hand. He turned to look at Sonny, and his jaw dropped. 

“Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr. reporting for duty, sir,” he said in his best official voice. 

“Holy shit,” Rafael said, sounding mildly shocked, setting the box back in the tray without taking his eyes off of the Detective. “Holy shit, Sonny.” 

“Yeah?,” Sonny smirked and stepped closer to him. “You think it looks good for the wedding?”

Rafael groaned loudly, sitting up. “You look so fucking hot I don’t think I’ll manage to get  _ through  _ the wedding.” 

“I think you mentioned something about grabbing my ass, correct?,” he teased, still keeping his police voice on, and turned around to give Rafael a nice view of his well tailored pants.

“God,” he whined, waving Sonny over. “Come here”

Smirking, Sonny walked over to him with as much confidence as he could muster. With no hesitation, he leaned over and kissed Rafael. He meant to place a quick kiss on his lips, but his fiancé had other plans and held on to his lapels so he wouldn’t move as he licked hungrily into his mouth. 

Rafael kept pulling him closer and closer, and soon Sonny was half on the bed, half off the bed, his hands on either side of Rafael’s head. 

He indulged his fiancé for a while, kissing him wet and dirty, drawing moans from deep in his chest. But eventually he need to take a breath, and he pulled back to see Rafael’s completely dazed look. 

“Raf, we can’t get my uniform stained,” he warned him as he felt a familiar feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. 

“I know,” Rafael said, his eyelids heavy. “Let me enjoy this a little more and I’ll take it off.”

“Yes, sir,” he whispered and went in for another kiss, but Rafael stopped him. 

“But you can keep the hat on, right?” 

Sonny groaned and nodded, claiming Rafael’s lips again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New drinking game: take a shot everytime Sonny and Rafael say they love each other! 
> 
> I'm sorry I'm incapable of writing smut, but if the idea of Sonny in an uniform interests you, I very gladly prompted [mforpaul (Linde) ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linde/pseuds/mforpaul)to write [this beauty](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17292401) for us 
> 
> We're coming to the end of this journey! Let me know what you think :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new Sergeant, a case closed and finally some time to plan the wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for 50 kudos!

When Sonny walked into the squad on Monday morning, it was eerily quiet. All the desks were empty and, checking his watch, he guessed Amanda was already off working in the nail salon again.

He looked into the Lieutenant’s office to see Fin was there, sitting across from her. Beside him, was another guy Sonny didn’t recognize, and standing by Olivia was Chief Dodds. 

That seemed official. So Sonny dropped his messenger bag on his chair and marched towards the office, knocking on the open door with a smile.

“Good morning,” he greeted as he stepped inside and all eyes turned to him. 

“Carisi, just in time,” Olivia waved him over. “Come meet the newest member of our squad. Sergeant Michael Dodds,” she said, gesturing towards the man sitting across from her.

He stood up and offered Sonny a hand. “Detective Carisi, I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

“Oh, really?,” Sonny chuckled and shook his hand. “Not good things, I bet.” 

“Well, I’d say you passing the bar is a very good thing.” 

“And everyone else would disagree,” Fin teased from his seat. 

“Not Barba,” Chief Dodds chimed in.

“What?,” Sonny let go of the Sergeant’s hand and put it on his waist, squaring his shoulders with a small smile. “Even the Chief is getting into the teasing now?”

“Alright, everyone,” Olivia cut them off, snickering. “We have a job to do. Amanda is going to send the security footage any moment now, so let’s move this to the briefing room.” 

“Great,” Chief Dodds nodded. “I’m sure you won’t mind if I stay for that, Lieutenant?”

Sonny and Fin exchanged a knowing look then glanced at Olivia, who seemed like she very much minded. 

“Of course not,” she said with a neutral tone, gesturing for the Chief to walk in front of her. “Rollins has been instructed to be on reception duty today so she can keep tabs on every one who comes in today.” 

“Has he showed a pattern of hunting on Monday?,” Chief Dodds asked as the group walked out of Olivia’s office. 

“No,” Fin replied. “But because the last victim was there on Monday, we want to be extra careful.”

“Carisi, as soon as we get the footage from Rollins, I’d like you to go through it and flag anyone who matches the victims’ description,” the Lieutenant said.

“I could help,” Sergeant Dodds said. “You know, so that we can through it faster. I read the files, I know the description.”

Olivia considered him, then nodded. “Great.” 

“When were the security cameras installed again?,” Chief Dodds asked.

“After the third attack,” Sonny said, unamused. “Apparently two clients being attacked wasn’t enough, one had to be killed for them to take it seriously.” 

Chief Dodds shook his head. “Irresponsible.” 

Sonny and Fin picked up their laptops and made their way to the briefing room. Olivia sat with her own computer and both Dodds shared another one. The Lieutenant went over the details of the victim they caught on Friday night, sharing photos and personal information around the table. 

After a while, Sonny’s computer pinged with a new email from Amanda, two files attached to it. He sent one to Dodds and they went to work. 

Eventually, Chief Dodds and Olivia went back into her office and left the Sergeant and Sonny under strict orders to call them if they found anything.

It was about forty minutes later that Sergeant Dodds tapped Sonny’s shoulder and asked, “Did we check their suppliers?”

“Yeah,” he grabbed a file and opened the list of suppliers they went through. “From shampoo to nail polish, we checked everyone. Why?”

“This delivery guy,” Dodds said, pointing at the screen. “He’s not wearing an uniform, he doesn’t have a tag nor a logo on his shirt. He just dropped this box and left.” 

Sonny watched closely as Dodds replayed the clip. The guy was wearing a simple polo shirt, and he says something to the secretary that makes her leave her post. But he doesn’t move, he just stands there with the box in his hand. Eventually, the owner of the salon comes out and he delivers the box in her hands, then leaves.

It’s odd. He didn’t ask her for her signature, he didn’t say anything to her. He simply handed the box and left. 

To add to the suspicion, he fitted the victims’ description of their attacker perfectly.

“That’s weird,” Sonny said. “Let’s check with the Lieu. We need to find out what he delivered.”

.x.

Turns out, the guy came into the salon with the excuse to drop a PR package from the company he worked for. He told the secretary he could only deliver it to the owner, that were his boss’ orders. The owner informed them it was the first time they got PR delivered straight to the store because their P.O. box address was a different one. 

However, the man in the polo shirt became their prime suspect when the owner informed them the contents of the box were only bottles of nail polish remover, with no store nor brand name to them. There was also no return address on the box, but they managed to run the barcodes through the system and traced it back to a factory. 

And there they found Philip Hendrix, a complete psychopath who laughed at them when he was cuffed and said they took way too long to find him. Sonny knew without even talking to the guy that he was the “I’m not sorry for what I did” type, and it made his skin crawl. 

They called Rafael in to observe the interrogation and Olivia very wisely asked Sonny to sit this one out. Considering the blind rage he felt just by looking at the guy, he wasn’t sure what would come over him if the monster started bragging about the attacks in front of him.

“Are you sure you want to be here for this?,” The Lieutenant asked when Fin manhandled the guy into an interrogation room and Sonny stood by the glass, beside his soulmate. Rafael looked as pained as he felt. 

“Yeah,” he breathed. “I need to hear what he has to say.”

And he did get an earful indeed. 

“Why did you kill Karl?,” Amanda asked. “Was it an accident?”

The guy laughed. “Please. The little bitch was bonded, to another guy. He told me all about it while he begged for his life. And I just couldn’t have that.”

“Why? Was he supposed to be bonded to you or something?,” Fin asked.

“No, that’s unnatural. Two men can’t be bonded, it doesn’t work like that,” he spat and Sonny’s hands curled up into fists.

“How does it work?,” Amanda pressed.

“A man can only bond with a woman, it’s how nature works. How are we supposed to keep evolving as a society if these freaks keep messing things up?,” he said as if any of the words coming out of his mouth made any sense.

“If it’s unnatural, why did you rape them?,” Fin asked, and his tone of voice told the guy just how dumb he sounded. 

“To teach them a lesson,” he shrugged. “So they’d never think of sleeping with men ever again.”

“I’ve heard enough,” Rafael stepped back. “Just triple check his signed confession when he’s done with his nonsense.” 

“Hey, are you okay?,” Sonny asked, reaching for his hand, but stopping himself. 

Rafael took a deep, steading breath and looked up at him. “I’m glad we caught him,” he said. 

“Do you two need a moment?,” Olivia asked. “You can use my office, I’m going to stay here until Fin and Rollins are done.”

“Yeah,” Sonny nodded. “Thanks, Lieu.”

They walked in silence to Olivia’s office, Sonny closing the door behind them as Rafael lowered the blinds. The room fell a little dark, but they didn’t need light to find each other in a hug. 

Rafael held on to Sonny’s waist tightly, his face pressed against his neck. They breathed together for a moment, and Sonny felt Rafael opening the bond. 

In came feelings of hopelessness, anger, concern, and mourning. He hugged Rafael closer, turning his head to kiss his soulmate’s cheek. 

Rafael was the first one to break the silence, whispering into his skin. “What he said about it being…. unnatural.”

“We both know that’s bullshit,” Sonny said fiercely. 

“It is,” he agreed, pulling back slightly to look at Sonny’s face. “I know it is because bond or not, no matter the universe, I know I’d find you. If you were a baker and I was a lonely lawyer, if I were a writer and you were a baseball player, if we were two random people in a café, I’d fall in love with you, Sonny. Every time.”

Sonny sniffed, his heart beating faster. “Your vows are going to be better than mine.” 

“Well, obviously,” Rafael chuckled. 

Sonny smiled and took Rafael’s chin in his hand, guiding him into a kiss. It was quick and chaste, they were in his boss’ office after all, but it was what Sonny needed to feel refreshed. 

“I love you,” Rafael said. 

“I love you, too. So much.” 

Rafael pecked him on the lips one more time and stepped back entirely. “Now go process that monster, I have to go back to the DA’s office.” 

“Let me know if you need anything,” Sonny was the one to say it this time, because he could feel that Rafael was still a little restless. 

He smiled. “You too.”

With that, Rafael opened the door and left, and Sonny went to open the blinds again, the volume of their bond going down as the blinds went up. 

.x.

Rollins was the one who processed the perp, but not before checking if he was okay. Fin gave him a long, assessing look, then punched him lightly on the shoulder. Olivia asked if he needed a break. 

“Actually, Lieu, I wanted to talk to you about something,” he said, turning his chair towards her. “Now that Rollins is back and we’ve got a new Sergeant, I was wondering if I could take longer lunch breaks.” 

Olivia tilted her head. 

“You see, Rafael and I are struggling with the wedding plans because we don’t have much time during the week and most services aren’t available on Saturdays,” he told her with a hopeful tone. “But we could squeeze it in during lunch hours” 

“Rafael didn’t say anything,” to her credit, she actually looked very guilty. “I mean, he told me you met with the caterer.”

“Yeah, but it took some yelling for them to see us on the weekend,” he chuckled. “And now we’re struggling with the venues. None of them open on Saturday.” 

“I understand. No worries, Carisi,” Olivia smiled. “You can take one hour lunch break, and if you’re late I won’t be mad. But don’t be late,” she winked. 

“You bet, Lieu,” Sonny beamed. 

“You’re getting married?,” Dodds asked when Olivia was out of their earshot.

“Uh,” Sonny looked at him, confused. “I thought you knew. Office gossip is kinda heavy around here. Also, we disclosed a long time ago.” 

Dodds’ eyes widened. “Disclosed?” 

“Yeah, I’m marrying Barba,” he told him and preened, proud. “We’re soulmates.” 

Sonny laughed at Dodds’ shocked look. 

“I thought my dad was just teasing.” 

“Well, he was teasing,” Sonny shrugged. “But it’s also true.” 

“Well, good for you,” he smiled. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks, man!,” Sonny grinned. 

.x.

When Sonny got home, Rafael wasn’t there. He thought about getting started on dinner, but tonight he didn’t want to spend most of his time in the kitchen, cooking, serving, then washing and cleaning.

Tonight, he wanted to spend his whole night in Rafael’s arms. 

So he took a long, relaxing shower, put on some soft, comfortable clothes and tidied the house quickly. He lighted some candles and put on some music while he went through the websites for the venues they wanted to see.

When Rafael texted that he was on his way home, Sonny timed it and ordered from their favorite Thai place to make sure it would be there just in time. 

Eventually, Sonny felt that tug at the back of his neck that indicated Rafael was nearby and smiled. He got up from the couch and waited by the entryway. 

He heard the key in the door and, when it opened, he was caught by surprise by the sight of his soulmate with an armful of flowers. 

“Hey,” Rafael greeted, a big smile on his face as their bond went up. “I brought you something.” 

Sonny beamed. “I wonder where you could be hiding it,” he stepped closer when Rafael locked the door behind him. 

Rafael laughed and offered him the bouquet. It was beautiful, a mix of yellow and orange roses. “These are for you.”

Sonny felt like he could literally melt and turn into a little puddle on the floor right then. Rafael was looking at him with a look of adoration and a soft smile. He felt his own heart pounding against his ribcage. 

“Raf, these are so beautiful,” he gasped, bringing the bouquet close to his nose and breathing it in. “What are these for?” 

“Just to show you that I appreciate you,” Rafael said, stepping closer to him. “And the work you do.” 

Sonny leaned in to give him a quick kiss. “Thank you. They’re lovely.” 

But apparently that wasn’t good enough for Rafael. He stepped closer to Sonny and took the flowers from his hands, setting them delicately on the kitchen counter before crowding him again. 

Rafael pulled him in for a deep, long, languid kiss. He didn’t waste any time, licking into Sonny’s mouth with passion. Their lips moved softly together, the familiar taste of Rafael making him hum in appreciation. 

He could feel Rafael’s heat enveloping him, and it felt like being comforted from the outside in. 

When they parted, Sonny felt lightheaded. “Wow,” he breathed, and Rafael chuckled. It shouldn’t surprise him that even though it had been almost three years, kissing Rafael still left him floored. 

“Do you want to order some dinner?,” Rafael asked. 

“Already did,” he said cheekily. “Why don’t you go take a shower? It should be here any minute.” 

Rafael nodded, smiling softly as he reached up to brush Sonny’s hair from his forehead. “I’m glad this case is finally over.” 

“Me too,” Sonny said and sighed, relieved.

His soulmate pecked him on the lips and turned towards the bedroom.

Sonny picked up his bouquet again, smiling down at it. It was a beautiful combination of shades. It reminded him of a sunrise, bright and warm. 

He looked around for a vase, and found a white one his sister had gifted them. However, before he could fill it with water for the flowers, their buzzer went off, announcing their food had arrived. 

Sonny let the delivery boy up, paid and received their food, setting everything nicely in the coffee table. He went into the kitchen to finish getting the flowers ready, then put it on the coffee table as well, decorating the living room. 

Rafael came out of the bedroom a few minutes later, smiling at the display. “That looks really nice, Sonny.”

“Yeah, you have great taste,” Sonny smirked. 

He sat down on the couch with the food, and Rafael did the same, settling down with his legs across Sonny’s lap.

Rafael leaned in as close as he could, almost being completely in Sonny’s lap, and he loved it. Rafael smelled of their soap, and it felt familiar. 

“Hey, I talked to the Lieu today,” he said halfway through their meal. “She said I can have a longer lunch break so we can check the venues.”

Rafael’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked impressed. “Really? You talked to her?” 

“Yeah, you know, with Rollins being back and a new Sergeant, it felt like a good time,” Sonny shrugged. 

“Great”, he nodded. “I’m glad. The tasting is set for this Saturday and once we’re done with the menu, we need to settle on a date and a venue.” 

They had three different dates in mind, but choosing one depended solely on which venue they liked the most and their availability. 

It sometimes hit Sonny right in the gut that he was marrying Rafael. The love of his life. His soulmate. Rafael Barba, the powerful Manhattan Assistant District Attorney, was going to be his husband. 

Every time he got caught up in those moments, he couldn’t help but stare at Rafael, the man who had given him more than he could ever hope for. When they first got connected, Sonny thought about what kind of person he was a lot. He thought about being with him, the things they’d do together. But reality didn’t hold a candle to what he had imagine. 

Rafael was too good for him. Smart, caring, considerate. Fierce, strong, a force he knew no one could hold back. Watching him was mesmerizing, and Sonny couldn’t get enough, ever. 

And he was so handsome, sitting close to him in comfy clothes, his hair falling softly on his forehead. He looked relaxed, at peace, the lines on his forehead completely smoothed out, his eyes bright. He was beautiful, and the heat emanating from him was intoxicating. 

“I’m so lucky to have you,” Sonny said, because he never really managed to keep it in. “I’m so happy I get to marry you.” 

Rafael looked at him with soft eyes and his smile grew as Sonny’s feelings traveled through their bond. 

Rafael leaned forward, resting their foreheads together. “I’m happy you’re home.” 

He knew what Rafael meant. 

Sonny had been thinking a lot about the victim who was killed and his soulmate. They’d never get to sit like they were sitting now, in each other’s arms, sharing a warm meal. They’d never get to plan their wedding. They’d never get married. 

Sonny and Rafael were so lucky, and so happy to just hold each other. 

When they were done with dinner, Sonny sat horizontally on the couch, one leg stretched out and the other one bent on the knee, foot flat on the floor, so Rafael could sit between Sonny’s thighs, his back propped up against Sonny’s chest. 

Sonny hugged Rafael by the waist and kept placing soft kisses along his neck and shoulder as he watched his fiancé browse through the venues’ websites and email them about viewings. 

He could feel Rafael’s heartbeat and his steady breathing. He could feel the overall sense of love and gratitude flowing through them. He looked at the matching rings on their fingers and smiled, hugging his soulmate tighter.

In the end, they chose the venue that had the sooner availability. And suddenly March couldn’t come fast enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we’re done! Wow, I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved working on this story. I’m sad to see it go! 
> 
> I’ve been working on another story as I published this one, it’s currently 4 chapters long and should be up soon. Don’t forget to follow me on twitter for updates: @pastelpinktv
> 
> Thank you all for your support, comments and kudos. Sometimes I couldn’t find motivation, but you all helped me loads. Until next time!

**Author's Note:**

> I think I might have permanent nerve damage from writing this, not even joking. Severe pain in my left arm. But this is complete and each chapter should be up every couple of days. 
> 
> So, to let me know my days of pain and putting an ice pack on my arm have been worth it, please don't forget to leave a kudo and a nice comment. Pretty please! 
> 
> If you all knew the noise I make when I see there's a new comment, yall would definitely leave one! :D


End file.
